Minor TV Mentions
The following is a list of Muppet Mentions made in TV shows outside of the Henson/Sesame fold, which are too brief or minor to constitute having their own page in the TV Mentions category. See also: Minor Movie Mentions. 2 Broke Girls The CBS series chronicles the lives of two waitresses, Max and Caroline, in their early twenties working together at a Brooklyn restaurant and dream of one day opening a cupcake shop for which they need to raise $250,000. Due to their low salaries, they can barely afford anything and must continually find ways to make ends meet. * In the episode "And Hoarder Culture," Caroline takes a temp job as a professional organizer from Craiglist, but doesn't realize she is cleaning a hoarder's apartment till she arrives at the place. When Caroline brings Max with her to the apartment, Max is excited about the hoarder's items. Then Caroline ask what pile of items are in the corner and Max replied, "It is either an old shag carpet or a masquerade of dead Muppets." *In the episode "And the Cronuts," Max and Caroline notice a bakery is successful because they sell a product called cronuts, a combination of croissant and doughnut. They decide to have someone buy the product from the bakery so Max and Caroline can add it to their cupcake shop's product line. When Caroline tells Max that their shop has a long line, Max worries about what will happen when they run out of cronuts: "I worked at Target the Christmas they ran out of Tickle Me Elmo and there was so much blood." *In the episode "And the Fat Cat," Owen Charles reveals his cat is name Dickens and Caroline is impressed saying the cat is name after Charles Dickens. Max replies that Charles Dickens wrote The Muppet Christmas Carol. *In the episode "And the Ten Inches," Han wears a flashlight headband on his head when the lights go out in the diner. Max calls him a Doozer from Fraggle Rock. ;Connections * Cedric the Entertainer played Darius in "And the Pre-Approved Credit Card" * Valerie Harper played a successful photographer in "And the Great Unwashed" * Kim Kardashian appeared as herself in "And the Realty Problem" * Phill Lewis directed episodes. * Hal Linden played Lester in "And the New Lease on Life" * Lindsay Lohan played as Claire Guinness in "And the Wedding Cake Cake Cake" * Martha Stewart appeared in "And Martha Stewart Have a Ball" * Kat Dennings plays Max Black. 21 Jump Street * In the season two episode "Christmas in Saigon," main character Sergeant Harry Truman Ioki, previously presumed to be a Japanese immigrant, is outed as a South Vietnamese refugee named Vinh Van Tran. An Ernie and Bert sketch is shown in one of a series of flashbacks as having been instrumental in teaching English to young Harry after his arrival in the states. ;Connections * Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played Wesley Williams in "Hi Mom" * Christina Applegate played Tina in "I'm OK - You Need Work" * Johnny Depp played Tom Hanson * Dom DeLuise played Uncle Nick in "Woolly Bullies" * Bridget Fonda played Molly 'Moho' Chapman in "Blinded by the Thousand Points of Light" * Jada Pinkett Smith played Nicole in "Homegirls" * Blair Underwood played Reginald Brooks in "Gotta Finish the Riff" 6teen An animated Canadian sitcom set in the fictional "Galleria Shopping Mall" and starring an ensemble cast of six sixteen-year-old friends as they explore their first part-time jobs and lives as teenagers. In episode, "Boo, Dude," Jen Masterson has to dress up as a pig for Halloween at her job and one guy says, "Yo Miss Piggy, digging the snout, man." According to Jim * In the season 8 episode "Two for the Money", Jim tells Cheryl that he took the twins to the art institute and mentions some exhibits they saw. Andy pulls Jim aside and asks him where he knows all that stuff from. Jim tells him that Elmo and Big Bird from Sesame Street went to the museum. ;Connections * Dan Aykroyd played Danny Michalski * Erik Estrada played himself * Brad Paisley played Chad * Kimberly Williams Paisley played Dana * Tara Strong voiced the crying babies in "Separate Ways" and "The Blankie" All That Nickelodeon sketch comedy show. In the pilot episode, a frog rapper (played by Kenan Thompson) is asked if Kermit is his father. In another episode, in a "Good Burger" sketch, recurring character Ed falls in love with a co-worker. The co-worker asks a customer "Isn't he cute?" and the customer says "Yeah, he should be a Muppet!" A.N.T. Farm A Disney Channel sitcom about the lives of kids, who are part of a high school program for advanced young adults. In the episode "bad romANTs," self-centered Lexi Reed makes it a mission to make it into the school newspaper. One of her attempts to to have her friend Paisley pretend to choke. She states she has food caught in her "Snuffleupagus." In "amusemANT park," Paisley, Lexi and Olive compete in a doll beauty pageant, hosted by an aging puppet character Bernie, formerly a character on the 70's children's show Poppyseed Place (a Sesame Street spoof). When Olive's talent portion results in a chemical explosion, he mentions he hasn't seen such a bomb since Cookie Monster's performance in The Color Purple. ;Connections *Michael Oosterom performed Bernie. Antiques Roadshow An American show on PBS, based on a British program of the same name, the program has had one partially unintentional reference to Sesame Street. Rudy Franchi, of Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, wore an Oscar the Grouch tie in a 2001 appraisal (aired in the November 2008 episode "Politically Correct"). Henson Alternative has parodied the format. Archer An animated sitcom on FX revolving around secret agent Sterling Archer and his cohorts at ISIS, a low-rent spy agency. In the season three episode "Bloody Ferlin," Archer's coworker, agent Ray Gillette, mentions that he once kept a diary with Miss Piggy on the cover. Gillette's brother claims that their father burnt the diary. Connections * Darren Criss voiced the Irish Mafia. * Tom Kane voiced Woodhouse in season five, when the show was known as Archer Vice. * Timothy Olyphant voiced Lucas Troy. * Burt Reynolds voiced himself in the season three episode "The Man from Jupiter." * Kristen Schaal voiced Tiff Tunt. * George Takei voiced Mr. Moto in the season three episode "Drift Problem." * Jeffrey Tambor voices recurring character Len Trexler, and Torvald Utne in the season one episode "Killing Utne." * Jessica Walter voices Malory Archer, head of ISIS and Sterling's mother. * Patrick Warburton voiced Rip Riley in the three-part Season three premiere "Heart of Archness." Ash vs. Evil Dead The Starz series, pickup 30 years after the events of the Evil dead movies. * In the second season episode 7 "Delusion", Ash (Bruce Campbell) tries to escape an asylum. When he opens the cell door to where Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo), an illusion of her, are held she says "What the Fraggle Rock is that thing?" referring to the Ash puppet, Ash are holding. * In the second season episode 8 "Ashy Slashy", the Ashy Slashy puppet returns, this time with the real Kelly. She are trapped inside the room Baal held Ash in, with the animated Ashy Slasy puppet. When it attacks Kelly, it attaches itself to her arm. Kelly then says "Ah, why am I talking to a Muppet?". The puppet are shocked and says "Muppet?! Uh, well, you're awfully judgmental for a..". Awkward. An MTV sitcom about a high schooler named Jenna and her friends and enemies. In the episode "Knocker Nightmare," Jenna wears a green sling with googly eyes. At one point, she mentions that she has Elmo on her arm. Back To You * In the series pilot, Marsh McGinley recalls one wild time when he and Chuck Darling hung out with two skater girls with gorgeous legs, who were dressed up as characters on Sesame Street on Ice. Marsh recalled that Chuck banged Bert and Chuck replied, "That particular night was brought to you by the letter O." ;Connections * Ty Burrell played Gary Crezyzewski * Josh Gad played Ryan Church * Kelsey Grammer played Chuck Darling * Christopher Lloyd is one of the co-creator and executive producer of the show * Fred Willard played Marsh McGinley Beavis and Butt-head * During the music video, I Don't Think So by Dinosaur Jr, Beavis and Butt-head talk about how this music video relates to Sesame Street. Butt-Head mentions one of the band looks like Grover and Beavis starts to sing, "One of these things is not like the other/One of these things just doesn't, uh, belong...." Then Beavis says, "You know the guy that comes out, and he goes "Twelve chocolate cakes", and then he, like, falls on his butt, and the cakes spill all over the place? That was pretty cool." The duo then later notice that one of the chick puppets looks hot and Beavis said that she is one of the top three Muppets that he would do. Butt-Head then asks who else he would do. :Beavis: Well, Miss Piggy's kinda hot. :Butt-head: That fat pig? :Beavis: Shut up, Butt-head! I like 'em with a little meat on their bones. * During the music video, The Family Ghost by King Diamond, Beavis says that the lead singer looks like the Count. Butt-head agrees and does an imitation of Count as he counts four buttknockers with the trademark laugh. * During the music video, Mockingbirds by Grant Lee Buffalo, Butt-Head notice there are a lot of big Muppet-like birds there and then Beavis talks about Big Bird and how he never poops. ;Connections * Cloris Leachman voiced Old Woman in Beavis and Butt-head Do America * David Letterman voiced Mötley Crüe Roadie #1 - a.k.a. Butt-Head's Dad (credited as Earl Hofert) in Beavis and Butt-head Do America * Demi Moore voiced Dallas Grimes in Beavis and Butt-head Do America * Robert Stack voiced ATF Agent Flemming in Beavis and Butt-head Do America * Bruce Willis voiced Muddy Grimes in Beavis and Butt-head Do America Becker * In the episode, "Man Plans, God Laughs", John Becker's nurse and office manager, Margaret, is at home with the flu and Becker's other flaky nurse, Linda, is left in charge of the office. When the office is in chaos, Linda recommends Becker rename the exam rooms to A, B and C and place the patients according to the letter of their ailment. Becker then calls up Margaret to beg her to come back to the office by explaining to her, "She wants to bring the patients in alphabetically, Margaret. She's turning the place into Sesame Street." * In the episode, "Heart Breaker," Becker goes on a date with a woman who is younger than him. When his friends at Reggie's diner find out because Margaret called them, they made fun of him. Bob says, "So Becker's taking a walk down Sesame Street?" and Jake replies, "Looks like Oscar the Grouch has a girlfriend." * In the episode, "Really Good Advice," Becker plans a date with a woman name Beth and tells Reggie that they are going to meet tomorrow. Reggie tells Becker that today is Tuesday and tomorrow is Wednesday to make a point that Wednesday dates are pity dates. Becker replies, "Well thanks Big Bird. Maybe later we'll work on numbers." ;Connections * LeVar Burton played Mr. Haller in "Beckerethics" * Bill Capizzi played Mr. Capelli in "Pilot" and "Smoke'em If You Got 'Em" * Ted Danson played John Becker * Rhea Perlman played Dr. Simmons in "Psycho Therapy" * Richard Schiff played Berry in "Truth and Consequences" * Avery Schreiber played Mr. Perkins in "My Boyfriend's Back" * Dick Van Dyke played Fred Becker in "Becker the Elder" * Hattie Winston played Margaret Wyborn Being Erica In the third season premiere of the CBC drama series Being Erica, Julianne Giacomelli comments to Erica Strange about the gay village-area coffee shop Goblin's, then under renovation. Both Fraggle Rock and Being Erica were produced by CBC. : Erica: Whoa, what is going on here? : Julianne: Well it looks like Fraggle Rock, but it sounds like Queer as Folk. In a 2009 video blog, released online and on the first season DVD set, Erica is describing three odd wedding dress choices her sister has selected, including "number one, Big Bird chic. It's perfect." Ben 10: Ultimate Alien An animated series about a boy who can turn into aliens with a device called the Omnitrix. The ninth episode of the second season was titled "It's Not Easy Being Gwen". ;Connections * Michael Dorn voiced Viktor, Benvicktor * Rob Paulsen voiced Ditto * Tara Strong voiced Ben Tennyson, Upgrade, Benwolf, Lucy Tennyson, Ken Tennyson, and Sandra Tennyson. * Cree Summer voiced Frightwig Better Off Ted In the episode, "Change We Can't Believe In", Veronica (Portia de Rossi) calls scientists Phil (Jonathan Slavin) and Lem (Malcolm Barrett) "Bunsen" and "Beaker". The Bill Engvall Show In the episode "Car Trouble", Bryan Pearson (Skyler Gisondo) gets in a fight at school, and tries to get his parents to not call the school because they'll embarrass him. Lauren Pearson (Jennifer Lawrence) points out that he has an Elmo lunchbox and is worried that his mother will embarrass him. Bryan points out that "The Muppets are timeless!" Black Dynamite An animated series on Cartoon Network's swim block, based on the movie of the same name. The pilot episode, "Trouble on Puppet Street," features many references to Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. Black Dynamite and his crew are hired to take out That Frog Kurtis, the main character of "The Puppet Show" (described by a government agent as a low-budget way to entertain kids while the school system was fledgling), as he is about to start a child robbery wave across the country. Arriving at Puppet Street, they blow up Crenshaw the Slime, a trash can-dwelling creature. They are soon captured by Curtis and his army (featuring spoofs of Ernie, Bert and Big Bird), but Kurtis is quickly defeated. "The Puppet Show" seen in the episode mixes elements of The Muppet Show (such as the logo and theater setting), Sesame Street (a brownstone and garage are seen on stage) and other references (including a rainbow on stage). For the season one finale, there was a sequel episode, "That Seed of Kurtis, aka Fathers is Just Another Word for Motherf****r", where That Frog Kurtis' son, Brother Minister That Bastard Kurtis, plans on using Black Dynamite's father Reverend Daddy Dynamite for revenge. That Frog Kurtis later made an appearance in the two-part series finale The Wizard of Watts. Connections *Snoop Dogg voices Leroy Van Nuys *Arsenio Hall voices Tasty Freeze *Nicole Sullivan played Patricia Nixon in the 2009 film Black Mirror * In the 2014 Christmas special, someone says to Matt Trent, "Kept that information from your Cookie Monster mate, didn't you?" ;Connections * Jon Hamm played Matt Trent in "White Christmas" * Robin Weaver played Holder in "White Christmas" Bob's Burgers * In the episode "Bad Tina", Sexy Sesame Street and Erotic Muppets are among the books of romantic fan-fiction that Tina has written. * In the episode "Broadcast Wagstaff School News", Linda refers to her son, Gene -- having cut his hair and glued on a mustache in order to imitate the title character, his father -- as "my Muppet Baby Bobby." ;Connections *Kevin Kline plays Mr. Fischoeder *Kristen Schaal plays Louise *Sarah Silverman plays Ollie The Bob Newhart Show The second season episode "The Last TV Show" deals with psychologist Robert Hartley appearing on a public television show. His neighbor Howard Borden says, "Oh, I love public television. They have such interesting people on: William F. Buckley, David Susskind, The Muppets." ;Connections * Peter Bonerz played Jerry Robinson * H. B. Haggerty played the Hammer in "Ex-Con Job" * Mariette Hartley played Marilyn Dietz in "Have You Met Miss Dietz?" * Raul Julia played Greg Robinson in "Oh, Brother!" * Bruce Kirby played Dr. Klein in "Fit, Fat and Forty One" * Will Mackenzie played Larry Bondurant (1975-1977) and directed one episode * Penny Marshall played a stewardess in "Fly the Unfriendly Skies" and Miss Larson (1972-1973) * Pat Morita played the bartender in "Bob and Emily and Howard and Carol and Jerry" * Howard Morris played Shorty Vance in "Jerry's Retirement" * Bob Newhart played Dr. Robert Hartley * Tom Patchett wrote several episodes, served as executive producer and story consultant from the third season onward, and appeared as David Robbins in "Mister Emily Hartley" and Dave Death in "If Death Be My Destiny." * John Ritter played Dave in "Sorry, Wrong Mother" * Richard Schaal played Chuck Brock in "Goodnight Nancy" and Don in "By the Way.... You're Fired" and "Life Is a Hamburger" * Jay Tarses wrote several episodes, served as executive producer and story consultant from the third season onward, and appeared as a waiter in "Mister Emily Hartley" and "Enter Mrs. Peeper" * Fred Willard played John Tobin in "Tobin's Back in Town" * Henry Winkler played Miles Lascoe in "Clink Shrink" Bo' Selecta! The British show Bo' Selecta! has referenced The Muppets numerous times, especially in the third series premier in which celebrity stalker Avid Merrion gets his own TV show and promises it will be "Just like the Muppets!". Statler and Waldorf who rebut that it is not at all like The Muppets- "The Muppets dumps all over this dumps all over this shit!" The duo appear throughout the episode commenting on Avid's antics. File:Boselecta1.jpg|From season one episode 6 File:Boselecta2.jpg|Statler and Waldorf parody from season three Boston Legal * In the season two episode "Stick It," Paul Lewiston's daughter Rachel can be seen cleaning up her daughter's toys. Clearly visible in one shot is The Sesame Street Treasury Volume 8. * In the episode "Truly, Madly, Deeply," Zozo the Clown cites Sesame Street as an influential children's television program. ;Connections *Leigh-Allyn Baker played Frannie Huber in "Tortured Souls" * Candice Bergen played Shirley Schmidt * Corbin Bernsen played Eli Granger in "...There's Fire!" * Julie Bowen played Denise Bauer * Phyllis Diller played herself in "Brotherly Love" * Michael J. Fox played Daniel Post (2005-2006) * Ken Jeong played Coroner Myron Okubo in "The Innocent Man" * Larry King played himself in "Truly, Madly, Deeply" * Heather Locklear played Kelly Nolan in "The Black Widow" and "Schadenfreude" * Jane Lynch played Joanna Monroe * Michael McKean played Dwight Biddle in "Truly, Madly, Deeply" * Jenny O'Hara played Judge Kimberly Ohlund in "Squid Pro Quo" * Bernadette Peters played Judge Marianna Folger in "Guantanamo by the Bay" * Richard Portnow played Judge Peter Harding in four episodes * Carl Reiner played Milton Bombay in "Let Sales Ring" * Joan Rivers played herself in "Whose God Is It Anyway?" * Tom Selleck played Ivan Tiggs * William Shatner played Denny Crane * Nicole Sullivan played Joan Rubin in "...There's Fire!" * Meredith Vieira played herself in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" * Lisa Waltz played Dorothy Scanlon in "Trial of the Century" * Betty White played Catherine Piper Braingames An HBO children's series. * In the game "Faces" in the pilot episode, a distorted image had two Fraggles Red and Mokey. * In the game "Museum Misstakes" in the second episode, a 1663 Dutch family pic has a TV set with Cookie Monster. Breaking Bad An AMC series about a high school chemistry teacher who begins cooking meth after being diagnosed with cancer. * In the pilot episode, the camera pans over a number of items acquired for Walter and Skyler White's expectant baby, including a diaper bag with the baby versions of Big Bird and Elmo. ;Connections * Giancarlo Esposito played Gustavo "Gus" Fring * Danny Trejo played Tortuga * Charlie Rose played himself Brickleberry Animated series airing on Comedy Central since 2012. In the first episode, head ranger Woody Johnson recalls his former PTSD. A flashback cutaway is shown of him attempting suicide, with a gun in one hand and a Kermit puppet in the other. Bunheads In the season one finale, "A Nutcracker in Paradise," Weezer's cover of "Rainbow Connection" from The Green Album plays during Boo's speech to Carl and their dance. ;Connections *Sutton Foster plays Michelle California Dreams In the season 4 episode, "Two Too Much," Tiffani Smith introduces her date, Bruce, to her friend, Jake Sommers. Bruce replies that they only have a few minutes because they have expensive tickets to "Muppets on Ice." Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus are mentioned in dialogue. Cash Cab Cash Cab is a Discovery Channel television game show that takes place in a New York City taxi cab, where contestants must answer trivia questions for different amounts of money whilst trying to get to their destination without getting three wrong answers and getting kicked out. In one episode, a Red Light Challenge topic as to name the six Sesame Street Muppets that have appeared on the show since its start in 1969. The contestants won the challenge before time ran out. ;Errors *The episode mistakenly listed Mr. Snuffleupagus as a character that has appeared since 1969, when he has only been around since 1971. Castle * In the first season episode "Home Is Where The Heart Stops," Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion) refers to the main suspect in a murder case as a "perp." Two assisting detectives ask why writers always call them that, and offer a list of other names real cops call them. Among them are several pop culture references including Destro (from G.I. Joe), Sleestacks (from Land of the Lost) and Skeksis. * In the fifth season episode "Under the Influence", Castle hypothesizes a number of situations by which someone might have acquired the nickname "Monster." When he sees it's just a kid, he remarks, "More like Cookie Monster." ;Connections * Nathan Fillion plays Richard Castle * Stana Katic plays Detective Kate Beckett * Lisa Waltz played Laurie Horn in "Hell Hath No Fury" Celebrity Name Game This series pairs teams of two with a celebrity. Each member is given clues to a different celebrity, and has to guess the celebrity's name. On the episode of October 24th, 2014, the headline was "Cookie Monster ate all my cookies!". The subject was "Guest Stars on Sesame Street." Chuck * On the third episode of Chuck, the title character's best friend and sister discuss Chuck's future: ::Morgan: You don't understand. He is a fragile little gelding. You know? Still trying to find his legs. The real world will crush him. ::Ellie: Do you know what a gelding is? ::Morgan: scoff It's that weird creature from The Dark Crystal. "Smells like gelding"... that guy. * In the third season episode "Chuck Versus the Mask," Chuck is looking for the antidote to a poison in one of several vases in a museum. He says to himself, "C'mon Chuck, one of these things is not like the others." * In "Chuck vs the Aisle of Terror" Ellie and her mom are shopping in a baby store where some Sesame Street dolls are on display. ;Connections *Chevy Chase played Ted Roark in three 2009 episodes *Udo Kier played Otto von Vogel in "Chuck Versus the Role Models" (2010) *Zachary Levi played main character Chuck Bartowski *Jenny McCarthy played Sylvia Arculin in "Chuck Versus the Suburbs" (2009) *Kristin Newman served as a writer and producer for the series *Robert Picardo played Perseus in "Chuck Versus the Lethal Weapon" (2009) *Andy Richter played Brad White in "Chuck Versus the Suburbs" (2009) *Brian Thompson played Cliff in "Chuck Versus the Suburbs" (2009) *Fred Willard played Craig Turner in "Chuck Versus the Role Models" The Cleveland Show * In the fifth episode of the Family Guy spin-off, "Cleveland Junior's Cherry Bomb," depicts Cleveland and his son at a baseball game when the giant screen shows the "Kiss Cam." One of the couples making out is Ernie and Bert. * In the episode, "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Roberta," Cleveland asks his wife, Donna, to hand him a towel with a hood that makes him look like Cookie Monster. Donna gets a blue towel with Cookie Monster eyeballs on it. * In the episode, "Terry Unmarried", as Cleveland Junior walks to the bathroom, he scats to the Sesame Street cartoon: "Loaf of bread, container of milk, stick of butter...". * In the episode, "Brown Magic", Cleveland tells Rallo that he is just a prop and that nobody remembers Oscar the Grouch, but they do remember Caroll Spinney. *In the episode "American Prankster", Donna is taking away Rallo's toys, including a Tickle-me-Elmo doll. Later, Cleveland is seen playing in his bedroom with the same doll, but throws it away. *In the episode "When a Man (or a Freight Train) Loves His Cookie," as LeVar is singing to his wife, he says "As Cookie Monster so greatly put it, "C is for Cookie and that's good enough for me" *In the episode "Squirt's Honor," Cleveland Junior sees Rallo on his tablet and says to him, "Muppets huh? You know Kermit's dead? The guy that did his voice died of a bacterial infection. Sore throat one day, next day he croaked." ;Connections * Jason Alexander voiced Saul Friedman in "Brotherly Love" * Edward Asner voiced the Daily Splash Editor in "The Curious Case of Jr. Working at The Stool" * Hank Azaria voiced Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons in "Hot Cocoa Bang Bang" * Chris Colfer voiced his Glee character, Kurt Hummel, in "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Roberta?" * Seth Green voiced his Family Guy character Chris Griffin in various episodes and in "Our Gang." He also voiced Kurt Cobain in "Da Doggone Daddy-Daughter Dinner Dance" * Jane Lynch voiced Ms. Eck in "Love Rollercoaster" * Bruno Mars voiced himself in "Menace II Secret Society" * Kevin Michael Richardson voices various characters. * Ashley Tisdale voiced Lacey Stapleton in "The Curious Case of Jr. Working at The Stool" * Danny Trejo voiced Danny Trejo in "Hot Cocoa Bang Bang" (2011) * Patrick Warburton voices Joe Swanson in various episodes. * Questlove voiced himself in "Menace II Secret Society" * Craig Robinson voiced LeVar Brown * Cree Summer voiced the twin in purple at the Stoolbend Rest Home and Guest #1 in "Sex and the Biddy". * Jennifer Tilly voiced Bonnie Swanson in "Pilot" * Kanye West voiced Kenny West * Will.i.am voiced Bernard. He also voiced himself in "Menace II Secret Society" Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns Satirical animated limited series aired on PBS in 2008, loosely inspired by NPR's Car Talk and featuring numerous jokes about public television and radio. In one episode, Big Bird and Cookie Monster beat up Click and Clack after their station fails to meet its fundraising goals. In the episode "Campaign," Sal gambles away Click and Clack's fundraising money on a bet on whether or not the number of the day on Sesame Street will be even. After she discovers it is even (4), she angrily comments, "The Count is killing me this month!" Codename: Kids Next Door Codename: Kids Next Door was an animated show on Cartoon Network which aired from December 6 2002-January 21, 2008. In Opeartion R.A.B.B.I.T., there was a magical bunny named Mr. Fluffleupagus whose name seemed to be based on Mr. Snuffleupagus. Comedy Bang! Bang! Comedy Bang! Bang! (2012-present) is a television series created and hosted by Scott Aukerman, featuring his co-host/bandleader Reggie Watts (seasons 1-4) and "Weird Al" Yankovic (season 5). The mock talk show airs on IFC and features outlandish and farcical humor, often delivered in a deadpan manner. In the episode "Sarah Silverman Wears a Black Dress With A White Collar" (season 2, episode 8), during a series of rapid-fire questions, Scott is asked what his favorite thing to tickle is; he answers "Elmo." ;Connections *Jessica Alba appears in "Jessica Alba Wears a Jacket with Patent Leather Pumps" *Jason Alexander appears in "Jenna Fischer Wears a Floral Blouse & Black Heels" *Aziz Ansari appears in "Aziz Ansari Wears A Charcoal Blaze" *Judd Apatow appears in "Judd Apatow Wears A Polo and Blue Suede Shoes" *Fred Armisen appears in "Fred Armisen Wears Black Jeans & Glasses" *Will Arnett appears in "Seth Rogen Wears A Plaid Shirt & Brown Pants" *Todd Barry appears in "Paul Rudd Wears A Red Lumberjack Flannel Shirt" and "Kid Cudi Wears a Denim Shirt and Red Sneakers" *Vanessa Bayer appears in "Patton Oswalt Wears a Black Blazer & Dress Shoe" *Jack Black appears in "'Weird Al' Yankovic Wears A Hawaiian Shirt" and "Jack Black Wears an Embroidered Cowboy Shirt and Ox Blood Sneakers" *Ty Burrell appears in "Ty Burrell Wears a Chambray Shirt & Clear Frame Glasses" *Dane Cook appears in "Dane Cook Wears a Black Blazer & Tailored Pants" *Rob Corddry appears in "Rob Corddry Wears Tan Dress Shoes & Red Socks" *Jesse Tyler Ferguson appeared in "Jesse Tyler Ferguson Wears a Brown Checked Shirt and Stripey Socks" *Zach Galifianakis appears in "Zach Galifianakis Wears A Blue Jacket & Red Socks," "Zach Galifianakis Wears a Santa Suit," "Zach Galifianakis Wears a One-Armed Jacket" and "Zach Galifianakis Wears Grey Corduroys and Brown Leather Shoes" *Joseph Gordon-Levitt appears in "Joseph Gordon-Levitt Wears a Heart T-Shirt and Blue Jeans" *David Alan Grier appears in "Fred Armisen Wears Black Jeans & Glasses," "Maya Rudolph Wears a Black Skirt and Strappy Sandals," "Simon Helberg Wears a Sky Blue Button Down and Jeans," "Dax Shepard Wears a Heather Gray Shirt and Black Blazer" and "Skylar Astin Wears Blue Jeans and Weathered Brown Desert Boots" *Josh Groban appears in "Josh Groban Wears a Suit & Striped Socks" and "Josh Groban Wears a Blue Blazer and Shiny Black Shoes" *Bill Hader appears in "Bill Hader Wears A Grey Button Down Shirt & Sneakers" *Jon Hamm appears in "Jon Hamm Wears A Light Blue Shirt & Silver Watch" *Chris Hardwick appears in "Gillian Jacobs Wears A Red Dress With Sail Boats," "Chris Hardwick Wears a Black Polo & Weathered Boot," "Amber Tamblyn Wears a Leather Jacket & Black Bootie," and "Zach Galifianakis Wears Grey Corduroys and Brown Leather Shoes" *Tony Hawk appears in "Tony Hawk Wears a Plaid Shirt & a Silver Watch" *Ed Helms appears in "Ed Helms Wears A Grey Shirt & Brown Boots" *Pee Wee Herman appears in "Pee Wee Herman Wears a Halloween Costum" *John Hodgman appears in "Uzo Aduba Wears a White Blouse and Royal Blue Heels" *Rashida Jones appears in "Rashida Jones Wears a Black Blazer & Flowered Pants" *Sally Kellerman appears in "Stephen Merchant Wears a Checkered Shirt and Rolled Up Jeans" *Anna Kendrick appears in "Anna Kendrick Wears A Patterned Blouse & Burgundy Pants" *Taran Killam appears in "Jenna Fischer Wears a Floral Blouse & Black Heels" *Joel McHale appears in "Joel McHale Wears a Navy Zip-up and High Tops" *Michael McKean appears in "Stephen Merchant Wears a Checkered Shirt and Rolled Up Jeans" *Christopher Meloni appears in "Aziz Ansari Wears A Charcoal Blaze" *Bobby Moynihan appears in "Bill Hader Wears A Grey Button Down Shirt & Sneakers" and "Brie Larson Wears a Billowy Long-Sleeve Shirt and White Saddle Shoes" *Laraine Newman appears in "Casey Wilson Wears A White Lace Dress & A Black Blazer" *Nick Offerman appears in "Nick Offerman Wears a Green Flannel Shirt & Brown Boots" *Haley Joel Osment appears in "Randall Park Wears Brown Dress Shoes With Blue Socks," "Jake Johnson Wears a Light Blue Button-Up Shirt and Brown Shoes" and "Kathryn Hahn Wears Ripped Jeans and Black Heels" *Randall Park appears in "Randall Park Wears Brown Dress Shoes With Blue Socks" *Jordan Peele appears in "Andy Samberg Wears A Plaid Shirt & Glasses" *Eddie Pepitone appears in "Jon Hamm Wears A Light Blue Shirt & Silver Watch" and "Mark Duplass Wears a Striped Sweater and Jeans" *Amy Poehler appears in "Amy Poehler Wears A Black Jacket & Grey Pants" *Kevin Pollak appears in "Patton Oswalt Wears a Black Blazer & Dress Shoe" and "Ken Marino Wears a Slim Gray Suit and Salmon Tie" *Andy Richter appears in "Jon Hamm Wears A Light Blue Shirt & Silver Watch" and "Andy Richter Wears A Suit Jacket & A Baby Blue Button Down Shirt" *Seth Rogen appears in "Seth Rogen Wears A Plaid Shirt & Brown Pants" *Jeff Ross appears in "Amber Tamblyn Wears a Leather Jacket & Black Bootie" *Paul Rudd appears in "Paul Rudd Wears A Red Lumberjack Flannel Shirt" *Maya Rudolph appears in "Maya Rudolph Wears a Black Skirt and Strappy Sandals" *Zoe Saldana appears in "Zoe Saldana Wears A Tan Blouse & Glasses" *Andy Samberg appears in "Adam Scott Wears A Red Oxford Shirt & Jeans" and "The Lonely Island Wear Holiday Sweaters & White Pants" *Horatio Sanz appears in "Rashida Jones Wears a Black Blazer & Flowered Pants," "Steven Yeun Wears Rolled Up Black Jeans & No Socks," "Schoolboy Q Wears a Patterned Bucket Hat and Glasses," and "Mary Elizabeth Winstead Wears an A-Line Skirt and Pointy Black Boots" *Kristen Schaal appears in "Jessica Alba Wears a Jacket with Patent Leather Pumps" *Jason Schwartzman appears in "Jason Schwartzman Wears a Striped Shirt and High Top Sneakers" *Adam Scott appears in "Adam Scott Wears A Red Oxford Shirt & Jeans," "Gillian Jacobs Wears A Red Dress With Sail Boats," and "Jack Black Wears an Embroidered Cowboy Shirt and Ox Blood Sneakers" *Dax Shepard appears in "Dax Shepard Wears a Heather Gray Shirt and Black Blazer" *Sarah Silverman appears in "Sarah Silverman Wears a Black Dress With A White Collar" *Sinbad appears in "Colin Hanks Wears a Denim Button Down and Black Sneakers" *Cobie Smulders appears in "Cobie Smulders Wears a Black & White Strapless Dress" *Rich Sommer appears in "Skylar Astin Wears Blue Jeans and Weathered Brown Desert Boots" *French Stewart appears in "Chris Hardwick Wears a Black Polo & Weathered Boot" *Dave Thomas appears in "Stephen Merchant Wears a Checkered Shirt and Rolled Up Jeans" *Marisa Tomei appears in "Ed Helms Wears A Grey Shirt & Brown Boots" *George Wendt appears in "Jesse Tyler Ferguson Wears a Brown Checked Shirt and Stripey Socks" *Fred Willard appears in "Fred Armisen Wears Black Jeans & Glasses" *Tyler James Williams appears in "Brie Larson Wears a Billowy Long-Sleeve Shirt and White Saddle Shoes" *"Weird Al" Yankovic appears in "'Weird Al' Yankovic Wears A Hawaiian Shirt," " David Cross Wears A Red Polo Shirt & Brown Shoes With Red Laces," "Lizzy Caplan Wears All Black & Powder Blue Espadrille," "Eric Andre Wears a Cat Collage Shirt & Sneakers" and ""Weird Al" Yankovic Wears a Different Hawaiian Shirt"; he also serves as the bandleader and co-host starting in the fifth season. Comedy Central's Last Laugh 2005 Last Laugh 2005 was a TV special that aired on Comedy Central and opened with a number by William Shatner as The Devil. In a public service announcement sketch spoof concerning the possible threat of the Avian Flu, a red bird puppet named Burt Flu teaches viewers about the disease, how to avoid it, and what they should and shouldn't do (demonstrated by child actors and some adults) Burt then says that his brother "Big Bird" Flu will give out a list of more do's and don'ts. The camera cuts to a park where "Big Bird" Flu (full-body puppet like Big Bird of Sesame Street) is seen almost featherless, shaking, coughing and falling to the ground. Corner Gas Corner Gas is a Canadian TV show set in Dog River, Saskatchewan, which originally aired on CTV, and replays in weekday syndication on CTV2. In the episode "TV Free Dog River", Dog River is competing against another town for who survives not watching TV for one week. However, Oscar offers to people "You want some Muppets? Or how about The Flintstones? ;Connections *Eric Peterson played Oscar The Critic The Critic is an animated series that ran on ABC and FOX from 1994 to 1995 about a movie critic named Jay Sherman. *In an episode guest starring Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert as themselves, Sherman is seduced by the two for a position as their co-host on their own TV show. As Ebert thumbs through a photo album, he points out a picture of himself and Siskel from the year they went as Ernie and Bert for Halloween. ;Connections *Judd Apatow was a writer and producer for the show *Christine Cavanaugh voiced Marty Sherman *Margaret Cho appeared in the pilot episode *Judith Ivey voiced Eleanor Sherman *Jon Lovitz voiced Jay Sherman *Rhea Perlman voiced Ardeth *Gene Shalit voiced himself *Russi Taylor voiced Penny Tompkins Curb Your Enthusiasm An HBO comedy starring Larry David, executive producer of Seinfeld, playing a fictional version of himself, his life following the successful series, and the odd situations he gets himself into, often due to his social awkwardness. * “The Nanny From Hell” (Season 3, episode 4) Martine), the nanny in the title, divulges she knows the secret about Susie Greene. :Martine: Hey congratulations! :Susie: Congratulations on what, dear? :Martine: (whispers) On the baby. Congratulations. :Susie: How did you know about that? :Martine: (motions to Larry) Big Bird told me. * “The Grand Opening” (Season 3, episode 10) Larry has inadvertently broken both thumbs of food critic Andy Portico. Now both his hands are in casts. :Portico: I look like a fuckin’ Muppet. * “The Lefty Call” (Season 6, episode 4) Larry and Richard Lewis (himself) argue over a couple wanting more children. :Richard: Who are you to them how many kids to have? :Larry: She’s got nine kids. C’mon, that’s plenty! :Richard: She wants more children! :Larry: How many does she need?” :Richard: Who the fuck are you, the Messiah? The Count? ;Connections *Jason Alexander played himself in five episodes *Anne Bancroft played herself in "Opening Night" *Michael Bloomberg played himself in "Larry vs. Michael J. Fox" *Mel Brooks played himself in four episodes *Ted Danson played himself in 13 episodes *Madeleine Doherty played herself in "Opening Night" (2004) *Judah Friedlander played Donald in "The Blind Date" (2004) *Ricky Gervais played himself in "The Hero" *Philip Baker Hall played Doctor Morrison in two episodes *Harry Hamlin played Dino in "The Smiley Face" *Cheryl Hines plays Cheryl David *Michael J. Fox played himself in "Larry vs. Michael J. Fox" *Nathan Lane played himself in "Opening Night" (2004) *Julia Louis-Dreyfus played herself in eight episodes *Michael McKean played Matt Tessler in two episodes *Rosie O'Donnell played herself in four episodes *Michael Richards played himself in three episodes *Robert Smigel played Yari in "Mister Softee" *Mary Steenburgen played herself in five episodes *Ben Stiller played himself in four episodes *Rita Wilson played Anne Michaelson in "The Doll" (2001) *Jerry Seinfeld played himself in six episodes *Wanda Sykes played herself in nine episodes *Moon Unit Zappa played Haboos in "The Blind Date" (2004) Da Ali G Show In episode #4 of Season 1, Ali G conducts an interview with four media analysts. He mentions that he's learned a lot from watching Sesame Street and asks why there isn't a version of it for kids, oblivious that it's a kids' show to begin with. Dave's World * In the series pilot, Shel ask Beth if it is the breast that makes them good with kids. Kenny tried to bring up another subject relating to breast, but Dave tried to stop him from talking about it. Kenny replied back, "Oh I'm sorry. If they're not on a Muppet, you people aren't interested." * In the episode, "It's A Small Van After All," Dave tries to keep the family happy in the van ride to Walt Disney World. He mentions some CDs to listen to, including "Sing Along with Kermit." ;Connections * Patrick Warburton played Eric in the second season. Dead Like Me * In the pilot, George considers talking to a little girl before saving her soul. After asking her name, she thinks to herself, "I didn't know what to say after that. I mean, it's not like they cover this sort of thing on Sesame Street." * In the episode "Curious George", a photographer uses a Tutter puppet to try and make Reggie smile for a family photo. * In the same episode, George and Mason have the following exchange: :George: I was dreaming about frogs. :Mason: Real ones, or like Kermit? Degrassi: The Next Generation *In the episode "Ghost in the Machine, Pt. 2", Ashley Kerwin and Craig Manning are having a discussion about their rock band and fellow bandmembers. :Ashley: You know, you guys should try going a little more post-Emo. Still punk, but less mopey. :Craig: I don't think the other guys even know what regular Emo is. Spinner probably thinks it's a Muppet. *In the episode "Ladies' Night", Anya tricks Holly J. Sinclair into devouring a double chocolate chip cookie during a fast for charity, during which Holly is also secretly videotaped and shown to an auditorium. Later when Holly J. comes to speak in the auditorium, Anya introduces her as: "It's the Cookie Monster!" A student in the audience taunts in a gruff monstery voice, "Holly J. hungry!" Dexter *In the episode "Crocodile", Rita (Julie Benz) serves Dexter (Michael C. Hall) a plate of cookies and tells him that he is "snarfing them down like the Cookie Monster". ;Connections * John Lithgow played Arthur Mitchell * Jimmy Smits played ADA Miguel Prado * Malcolm-Jamal Warner played Rita's lawyer in "Seeing Red" Dexter's Laboratory Dexter's Laboratory originated as a part of Cartoon Network's What A Cartoon! show before becoming it's own series, which initially ran from 1996 to 2003. Puppet Pals Mitch and Clem, who visually resemble Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie and stand behind the traditional brick wall, star in a show-within-a-show featured primarily in The Justice Friends segments. The Puppet Pals have also been seen in live-action form in their own filler segments. They've also appeared on The Powerpuff Girls. ;Connections *Christine Cavanaugh was the original voice of Dexter. *Eddie Deezen voiced Mandark. *Dom DeLuise voiced Koosalagoopagoop in several episodes. *Rob Paulsen voiced Puppet Pal Mitch and other characters. *Paul Williams guest starred in the episode "Just an Old Fashioned Lab Song." Dharma and Greg *In the season 4 episode "Sleepless in San Francisco," Pete mentions his dad's favorite movie is The Muppets Take Manhattan. *In the season 5 episode "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's ... My Wife" Kitty hired a decorator to design Greg's office at his father's company. In one of the designs, a Kermit telephone is on Greg's desk. When the phone rings, Edward says, "Your frog's ringing." ;Connections * Edward Asner played Earl Tucker * Dick Clark appeared as himself * Paul Dooley played Judge Harper * Mimi Kennedy played Abby O'Neil * k.d. lang appeared as herself * Jessica Lundy played Patty * Stuart Pankin played Mr. Gottlieb and Rabbi Mutchnik * Penn and Teller played a pimp and Mr. Boots * Yeardley Smith played Marlene * Kevin Sorbo played Charlie * Florence Stanley played Rose Hoffman * Ellis E. Williams played Al in "Hell to the Chief" (2000) Diagnosis Murder In the second part of the fifth season episode "Retribution", Canin is counting backwards when Steve surprises him. "I guess watching Sesame Street finally paid off for you, Canin. You count real pretty." Diff'rent Strokes In the 1979 episode "Arnold's Hero", when Arnold's adopted father Mr. Drummond informs Arnold that he won't be able to meet Muhammad Ali as promised, he says that he'll make it up to him by taking him "to see the Muppet film, for the twelfth time." In "The Bicycle Man" two-parter, an Ernie cookie jar can be seen in Mr. Horton's apartment. ;Connections * Dabney Coleman played Fred Tanner in "Arnold's Girlfriend" * Whitman Mayo played Jethro Simpson "The Adoption" (1979) * Edie McClurg played Betty in "Arnold the Entrepeneur" * Charlotte Rae played Mrs. Edna Garrett (1978-1979) Dollhouse * In the tenth episode of the first season, "Haunted": :Jocelyn Bashford: crying God, I'm so emo. :Margaret Bashford: I have to say, there's a part of me that's not sad to see someone mourning my friend. :Jocelyn: Is that what this is? :Margaret: You lost your mother. It's only natural you'd be so elmo. :Jocelyn: Emo. :Margaret: That's not a word, sweetie. * In the first episode of the second season, "Vows": :wakes up Topher by sexually seducing him :Topher Brink: What the hell? Are you drunk? :Claire Saunders: I'm just trying to be my best. :Topher: Whoah, I don't want your best. :Claire: his arousal Well, I think you do. :Topher: his crotch That is the minority vote. And you tricked it. Okay? A guy's asleep... could'a been Fozzie Bear and it would have... :Topher: gestures :Topher: Not that I think about Fozzie Bear. ;Connections * Jane Espenson wrote two episodes and served as Consulting Producer The Dome In the episode "Plan B", written by Tim Schlattmann and Mark Linehan Bruner, the following is said: : "Hector Martin?" : "Apparently he's the real head of Actaeon." : "I thought Barbie's father was?" : "Yeah, so do I. Turns out this dude was running it the whole time." : "Why would he hide his involvement?" : "Maybe because, from what I can tell, the government has their hand so far up him, he's a Muppet. A rich, powerful, and very bad Muppet." Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 *In episode 6, "It's Just Sex", June donates some stuff of Chloe's to the rummage sale, and the woman at the desk finds love letters from a celebrity and says, "I had a suitor myself - Frederick Spitz." When June looks puzzled, she says, "The famous puppeteer. His hand manipulated a Muppet for 40 years." *In episode 13, "Sexy People," Chloe states that if People put Fozzie Bear on the cover, June would find him sexy (since she follows every "Sexiest Man Alive" issue). ;Connections *James van der Beek plays a fictionalized version of himself Dragon's Den This reality show format, which originated in Japan, has entrepreneurs try to get a deal from up to five investors for a percentage of their company. This format has been exported to many countries, including the United States series Shark Tank on ABC. *On the December 11th, 2013 episode of the Canadian Dragon's Den, an entrepreneur is demonstrating his packaging, similar to an over-sized Advent calendar. Investor Kevin O'Leary, known sarcastically as "Mr. Wonderful", is given an Oscar the Grouch t-shirt as a reference to his personality. Connections * Jeff Foxworthy appeared in several episodes in season 2 of Shark Tank * Mona Weiss, who helped pitch Eco-Nuts on Shark Tank, was a recurring member of The Kids The Drew Carey Show In the season six episode "Drew Pops Something on Kate," Drew has lost his job and is unable to make payments on his engagement ring. He tells his friends Lewis and Oswald, "All Kate needs to see is me drinking a beer every morning and watching Sesame Street. Nothing like a drunk guy in his underwear singing about the letter E." ;Connections *Craig Ferguson played Mr. Wick *Caroline Rhea played Bonnie *Penn and Teller appeared in "Drew Meets Lawyers" *"Weird Al" Yankovic appeared as himself in "Drew Between a Rock and a Hard Place" Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist In the episode "Pretzelkins" Ben is shown laying on his bed, watching "Sesame Street". The clip is very brief, showing Bert and Ernie on the television screen. Image:DSC01809.JPG ;Connections *Sandra Bernhard played Sandra Eek! the Cat *In the episode "Eek vs. The Flying Saucers," Eek begs a race of aliens not to blow up the Earth, listing a large amount of reasons, including the Muppets. *In the fifth season episode "The FugEEKtive", America's Most Wanted searches for a missing Sharky. John Walsh, playing himself in a cameo, introduces Weird Al Yankovic, who has footage of Sharky filmed during his music video "Peppermint Twister". In one shot, Sharky is clearly visible among a kickline of dancing tornadoes. Weird Al narrates: "If you look close...well, to quote a famous educational show that is also heavily copyrighted, one of these things is not like the others." During Al's video, a knockoff instrumental version of the Sesame Street theme song is played. The Eric Andre Show A comedy/talk show on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block, starring Eric Andre and Hannibal Buress. In the 2012 special "The Eric Andre New Year's Eve Spooktacular," when comparing his appearance to that of guest Demi Lovato, Eric says, "Next to you, I, at best, look like Jar Jar Binks if he was a burn victim, and Hannibal looks, at best, like Bunsen from The Muppet Show if he was in blackface." Eureka * The 12th episode of season 3 is titled "It's Not Easy Being Green." After members of a bowling team are turned green as a prank by the opposing team, Tess Fontana says that it's a pretty color. Sheriff Jack Carter replies, "Yeah, if you're a Muppet." Later during an argument, a bowler calls one of his green opponents, Kermit. ;Connections *Colin Foo played a retired scientist in "Dr. Nobel" (2006) *Matt Frewer played Jim Taggart (2006-2007, 2009) Everwood A television drama that ran on the WB network from 2002 to 2006. In the episode "The Great Doctor Brown," Amy Abbott reveals to Ephram Brown the origin of her unusual nickname. :Amy: Grover. :Ephram: Grover? :Amy: It's my nickname. I always loved Grover as a kid. I know for most kids it's all Winnie the Pooh and Hello Kitty, occasionally Strawberry Shortcake, but for me, life was about a little blue Muppet named Grover. :Ephram: Well, Grover was a very underrated Muppet. In the episode "The Reflex," Hannah Rogers and Dr. Harold Abbott comment on a picture in the Abbott family photo album. :Hannah: Is that Bright wearing Muppet slippers? :Dr. Abbott: Ah, yes. Bright was oddly bewitched by Miss Piggy. And Amy simply would not remove her Fozzie Bears for all the tea in China. Everybody Hates Chris Everybody Hates Chris is a sitcom narrated by and loosely based on the life of Chris Rock. In episode 4.08 (entitled "Everybody Hates Big Bird"), Chris begins dating a tall girl in class who has been dubbed "Big Bird" by others at school. The episode includes background music similar to the Sesame Street theme, and a scene in which members of the football team mock the couple: :Football Player #1: Hey, it's Big Bird! :Football Player #2: Hey, where's Bert and Ernie? :FP #1: (to Chris) I guess that makes you . . . Snuffleupagus? :FP #2: No, it makes him Roosevelt Franklin! :FP #1: Cookie? :Both: COOKIE! When she breaks up with him, the narrator says "Tonight's episode was brought to you by the letters D, A, M and N!" ;Connections *Jason Alexander played Principal Edwards in "Everybody Hates the Buddy System" (2006) and "Everybody Hates Snow Day" (2007) *Debbie Allen played a mother in "Everybody Hates Elections" (2006) and a gun woman in "Everybody Hates Minimum Wage" (2007) *Wayne Brady played Louis in "Everybody Hates Thanksgiving" (2006) and "Everybody Hates the Buddy System" (2008) *Terry Crews played Julius Rock (2005–2009) *Whoopi Goldberg played Louise in "Everybody Hates Rejection" and "Everybody Hates a Liar" (2006) *Kadeem Hardison played the judge in "Everybody Hates Driving" (2007) and "Everybody Hates PSATs" (2009) *Steve Landesberg played Mr. Levine in "Everybody Hates Mr. Levine" (2009) *Chris Rock voices the narrator and played Mr. Abbott in "Everybody Hates the Guidance Counselor" (2007) *Tyler James Williams plays Chris Everybody Loves Raymond *In the season 4 episode "Prodigal Son," Raymond tells Debra about how he is a good person and that he doesn't have to go to church on Sunday morning. He replies he treats people normal and gives an example of a plumber he hired with a big eye. Raymond said he would treat the plumber normal, but other people would make fun of the plumber and call him, "Big Muppet-Eye Guy." *In the season 4 episode "Bad Moon Rising," Raymond secretly recorded Debra yelling at him with a tape recorder. After playing the tape recorder and making Debra cried, Raymond tries to cheer up Debra. He tells her that when he first heard himself in a radio interview, his voice sounds like Snuffleupagus. ;Connections * Peter Boyle played Frank * Dan Castellaneta played Brian Trenberth in "T-Ball" and Coach Brian in "It's Supposed To Be Fun." * Charles Durning played Father Hubley * Brad Garrett played Robert * Gary Halvorson directed episodes of the series * Patricia Heaton played Debra Barone * Kevin James played Kevin Daniels and co-wrote the episode "Golf" * Kristin Newman worked on the production staff * Ray Romano played Raymond and was a writer for the series. * Doris Roberts played Marie * Sherri Shepherd played Judy Potter * Jean Stapleton played Alda in "I Wish I Were Gus" * Fred Willard played Hank MacDougall Extras A British sitcom about film extras, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. In episode 2.4, Darren Lamb and Barry discuss Crazy Frog. :Darren: I'd have thought he's probably the second-richest frog in the world, after Kermit. :Barry: Kermit, yeah! There was his nephew, Robin... :Darren: Ah, Robin was good. :Barry: Looked set to take over the empire for a while, didn't he. :Darren: Oh yeah, he was a very good actor, and singer. :Barry: "Halfway Up the Stairs". :Darren: Good song. The Fairly OddParents An animated series shown on Nickelodeon. In the made-for-TV movie "Channel Chasers" one of the TV shows is entitled "Poppyseed Avenue," a parody of Sesame Street. A puppet version of Vicky walks up to a brick wall and says "Today's show is brought to you by the letter 'V'." (She holds up a letter 'V' '') She runs into a fake TV and jumps through the screen. Then, puppets of Timmy, his adult form, Cosmo, and Wanda walk up to the wall. Timmy and his adult form walk towards the TV. Cosmo looks at Wanda and blurts out, "I've never ''felt more alive. Get it? Felt!" They all jump through the TV. In another episode, the town baseball team, The Pirates, is playing, and a real pirate is running around saying nothing but "Arrrr." He passes two Sesame Street type monsters who are holding up the letters Q and R. Fairly OddParents Monster Pirates 2.jpg Fairly OddParents Monster Pirates 1.jpg ;Connections * Jason Alexander portrayed the live-action version of Cosmo in A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! * Alec Baldwin voiced Future Timmy in "Channel Chasers" * Gilbert Gottfried voiced Dr. Bender and Wendell * Cheryl Hines portrayed the live-action version of Wanda in A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! * Randy Jackson provided Poof's speaking voice at the end of A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! * Chris Kirkpatrick voiced Chip Skylark * Jay Leno voiced the Crimson Chin and the Nega Chin * Rob Paulsen voiced Mark Chang, King Grippulon, Bucky McBadbat and Happy Peppy Gary * Tony Sirico voiced Big Daddy * Ben Stein voiced The Pixies * Tara Strong voiced Timmy Turner and Poof * Frank Welker voiced Doidle Firebreather A 2010 Made for TV movie for Cartoon Network about the life of Duncan, the Sun of a Human female and Male Kaiju. During Biology class,Duncan creates a distraction so he ca rescue a tiny kaiju by bouncing around a frog set for dissection and screaming "They're waterboarding Kermit!" ;Connections *Kevin Michael Richardson voiced Belloc, Duncan's Kaiju father *Nicole Sullivan voiced Dr. Alexandrine Pytel Fish Police In the first episode of this short-lived 1992 prime-time cartoon, Inspector Gil tells waitress Pearl "You know how I feel about you" and winds up repeating "How..." when at a loss for words. Pearl asks why he talks like that, and Gil retorts that "all the great couples talk like that... uh, Fred and Wilma, Kermit and Miss Piggy, Rocky and Bullwinkle..." ;Connections *Edward Asner voiced Chief Abalone *Tim Curry voiced Sharkster *Buddy Hackett voiced Crabby the cabbie *Don Knotts voiced Mr. Lichen in "The Two Gils" *Megan Mullally voiced Pearl *Rob Paulsen voiced Richie in "No Way to Treat a Fillet'dy" *John Ritter voiced Inspector Gil *Sally Struthers voiced Shelly in "Beauty's Only Fin Deep" *Frank Welker voiced Mussles Marinara and Doc Croaker *Jonathan Winters voiced Mayor Cod FlashForward * The second episode of the first season "White to Play," features a Kermit pillow in the little girl's bedroom. * The same pillow appeared again in the sixth episode, "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps." The Flight of the Conchords In the episode "Bowie", Bret has visions in which he receives advice from various incarnations of David Bowie. The third and final Bowie is Jareth from Labyrinth. Connections * James Bobin directed, produced and wrote the show * Sutton Foster played Coco * Judah Friedlander played Isabella on "Sally " * Bret McKenzie played Bret and wrote and produce the series and the music * Kristen Schaal played Mel Freaks and Geeks Freaks and Geeks aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season, and was set in the early 1980s. In the episode "Girlfriends and Boyfriends," Cindy Sanders says to Bill Haverchuck, "Well, I don't really watch TV. Except for The Muppet Show." Cindy also keeps a copy of Miss Piggy's Guide to Life in her bedroom, which Bill peruses. Later, Bill insists Cindy's abnormal since "she eats carrot sticks and likes Miss Piggy." His friend Sam Weir rebuffs him with "So what, the Muppets are cool." Bill: "The Swedish Chef is kind of cool, but Miss Piggy's lame." Neal Schweiber chimes in, "Look, Professor Honeydew is hysterical!" ;Connections * Judd Apatow produced, wrote six episodes, and directed three * Joe Flaherty played Harold Weir * Rashida Jones played Karen in "Kim Kelly Is My Friend" * Ken Kwapis directed two episodes * Jarrett Lennon played Colin in three episodes * Sam McMurray played Dr. Vic Schweiber in three episodes * Leslie Mann played Miss Foote in "Chokin' and Tokin'" * Seth Rogen played Ken Miller * Jason Schwartzman played Howie Gelfand in "carded and Discarded" * Jason Segel played Nick Andopolis * Ben Stiller played Agent Meara in "The Little Things" Fringe * In the first season episode "Unleashed," Walter Bishop describes the animal characteristics that might have been involved in the death of an activist. His son Peter, attuned to his father's eccentricities, quips to investigating agent Olivia Dunham that they're looking for Big Bird. * From the second season episode "Momentum Deferred": :Rebecca Kibner: After awhile, it wasn't just during the experiments. I would see their faces in front of me. They seemed to have a certain glow about them. :Peter: The shapeshifters? :Rebecca Kibner: Mm-hm. It took me a year or two to really understand it. But I realized that I was recognizing people that didn't belong. Huh, you know, like that children's song. One of these things is not like the other. :Walter: One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn't belong. Sesame Street. :Rebecca Kibner: Yes, that's it. * From the third season episode "Stowaway": :Lincoln: (looking at a book) One of these things is not like the others. :Peter: Hm? :Lincoln: You never watched Sesame Street? ;Connections * Carlo Alban played an FBI tech in "The Dreamscape" * Blair Brown played Nina Sharp * Michael Cerveris played September * Michael Giacchino scored the series * Joshua Jackson played Peter Bishop * Leonard Nimoy played William Bell Garfunkel and Oates The first season episode, "Rule 34", features a spoof of Sesame Street called Pumpernickel Place. Kate and Rikki write a song called "Rainbow Connection" (which they wonder if they can get away with) about the marriage of the Bert and Ernie analogues, Schubert and Sockley. ;Connections *Chris Hardwick played himself in "Rule 34" *Ben Kingsley played himself in "The Fadeaway" Get a Life At the beginning of the pilot episode, Chris realizes he's missed Fraggle Rock soon after he wakes up in the morning. Ghostwriter Ghostwriter was a CTW show which aired on PBS. Focusing on a group of young detectives who work with a ghost (who manifests by rearranging words and writing), most stories were serialized in four or five parts. In the first season story "Building Bridges", the 1992-1998 Sesame Street theme and the cold open for Episode 3092 can be heard in the background when Rob visits Victor's home. In the second season story "Just in Time", when Jamal's grandmother asks Alex if he'd like to stay for lunch, he replies "Is the sky blue? Do birds sing? Is Sesame a Street?" ;Connections *Blaze Berdahl played Lenni Frazier *Fran Brill played Calvin Ferguson's mother *Samuel L. Jackson played Jamal Jenkins' father *Jeremy Miller played Craig Mitchell The Goodies A surreal sitcom broadcast by the BBC from 1970 to 1980, and by ITV from 1981 to 1982. It starred Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden. * In the 1975 special, "Goodies Rule OK", the boys fight, an oppressive puppet state made up well known puppet and costume characters from various children's programming, including an Oscar the Grouch parody hiding in a garbage bin *In the 1977 episode "Earthanasia" (sometimes called "The End of the World Show"), after the Goodies learn of the world's impending destruction, Tim laments that the Muppets will have to go as well, and that he hopes they won't suffer. Graeme then informs him that all the Muppets are puppets, demonstrating with impersonations of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Statler and Waldorf and Robin the Frog singing "Halfway Down the Stairs" Gravity Falls In the episode "Sock Opera", when Dipper possesses a sock puppet in his likeness, Mabel comments that he looks funny when he's mad, causing him to make an angry expression similar to Kermit's. The end credits features a brief live-action sequence depicting the characters as puppets. Grunkle Stan and Old Man McGucket are shown watching the show in a balcony and commentating ala Statler and Waldorf. An unmade episode planned for the show's first season was to be based on the plot of Labyrinth. ;Connections *Lance Bass from *NSYNC voiced Sev'ral Times on Boyz Crazy. *Coolio voiced Wax Coolio in Headhunters * Mark Hamill voices Bats Biker and Shape Shifter * Larry King voiced Wax Larry King in Headhunters * John O'Hurley voiced the Head Light Lilliputtian in The Golf War. * Nick Offerman voiced Agent Powers * John Oliver voiced Wax Sherlock Holmes in Headhunters * Kevin Michael Richardson voices Sheriff Blubs and various voices * Stephen Root voices Bud Gleeful * Horatio Sanz voiced several characters * Kristen Schaal voices Mabel * Peter Serafinowicz voiced Blind Ivan on Society of the Blind Eye * Jon Stewart voiced Judge Kitty Kitty Meow Meow Face-Shwartstein in Weirdmageddon 2 * Tara Strong does several voices * Neil deGrasse Tyson voiced "Smart" Waddles on * Frank Welker voices Gompers * "Weird Al" Yankovic voiced Probabilitor the Annoying in Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons Halt & Catch Fire In the second season premiere "SETI", Joe MacMillan mentions that he got Big Bird during a game around a campfire. Henry Danger In the episode "Substitute Teacher", Captain Man asks the students to name evil people. Charlotte names Big Bird. In the episode "Secret Beef", Captain Man and Kid Danger fight two criminals named Ert and Bernie. Heroes When Claire researches her birth parents in the first season episode "The Fix," she and her friend Zach find a newspaper article from Kermit, Texas. When Zach wonders why that sounds so familiar, Claire replies, "`Cuz of the frog?" ;Connections * Kristen Bell played Elle Bishop in twelve episodes * Eugene Byrd played Nathan's campaign manager in four episodes * Jesse Corti played the LAPD police captain in "The Fix" * Christopher Eccleston played Claude in five episodes * Stana Katic played Hana Gitelman in two episodes * Stan Lee played the bus driver in "Unexpected" * Hayden Panettiere plays Claire Bennet * Zachary Quinto played Sylar * Eric Roberts played Thompson in five episodes * Richard Roundtree played Charles Deveaux in four episodes * George Takei played Kaito Nakamura Histeria! *In the episode "Megalomaniacs", after Froggo introduces Julius Caesar for the "Word of the Day" sketch, Caesar responds to his introduction by saying "Thanks, Kermit." *In the episode "Presidential People" during the "Ask me if I care" segment, Toast interviews Lyndon B. Johnson and Lydia Karaoke interrupts half-way to comment on Johnson's achievement of creating public television. Toast replies by taking offense at the fact that Johnson was the one who gave them "those boring English dudes and those tickle me spaz puppets". ;Connections * Laraine Newman voiced Miss Information and Charity Bazaar * Rob Paulsen voiced Mr. Smartypants and Sammy Melman * Cree Summer voiced Aka Pella * Frank Welker voiced Father Time, Fetch, and Pule Houser Hollywood Game Night In the premiere episode, the second game was a charades-based game in which one word clues can be used. The first answer was "Cookie Monster", but partcipant Daniel Dae Kim accidentally says "Cookies" in Cookie Monster style. On the August 29th episode, one of the games was to put pictures of a certain theme in chronological order. One of the themes was toys, and one of the pictures was a Tickle-me-Elmo doll. ;Connections Jane Lynch hosts the show. Hope and Faith * In Season 3, Hope gets mad at Charley for letting Justin watch The Exorcist, and states that he still has nightmares from Elmo In Grouchland. ;Connections *Lynda Carter played Summer *Kathie Lee Gifford played Marge *Susan Lucci played Jacqueline Karr *Jenny McCarthy played Mandi *Andrea Martin played Madame Elizabeth *Regis Philbin played Handsome Hal *Kelly Ripa played Faith Fairfield Hot in Cleveland * In the first season episode "Good Neighbors," Elka comes back to the house and the ladies find out she changed the color of her hair to red. Elka says she found the picture in a magazine to show her stylist. Joy asks if the picture was Elmo. *In the second season episode "I Love Lucci: Part Two," Victoria refers to Susan Lucci's hand in the following way: "I can still feel that little Muppet hand on my mouth." ;Connections * Edward Asner played Jameson in "Rubber Ball" * Roger Bart played a Jersey Boys cast member in "Claus, Tails & High Pitched Males: Birthdates 3" * Carol Burnett played Penny in "Canoga Falls" * Sandra Bernhard played Caroline's lover in "Beards" * Kristin Chenoweth played Courtney in "The Gateway Friend" * Tim Conway played Nick in "It's Not That Complicated" and "Canoga Falls" * Cedric the Entertainer played Reverend Boyd in "Bridezelka" and in the spin-off The Soul Man. * Craig Ferguson played Simon in "The Man That Got Away" * Paul Dooley played Santa Claus in "Claus, Tails & High Pitched Males: Birthdates 3" * Jesse Tyler Ferguson played Wes in "Love is All Around" * Bonnie Franklin played Agnieszka in "Bad Bromance" * Melanie Griffith played herself in "Sisterhood of the Traveling SPANX" * George Hamilton played Robin in "Love Is All Around" * Valerie Harper played Angie in "Love Is All Around" * Sean Hayes is executive producer for the series and played a self-centered hand model in "One Thing or a Mother" * Joe Jonas played Melanie's secretive son Will in "Good Luck Faking the Goiter" and "Love is Blind" * Jimmy Kimmel played himself in "I Love Lucci: Part One" * Cloris Leachman played Peg in "Love Is All Around" * Hal Linden played Alex Chase in "Meet the Parents" * Heather Locklear played Chloe in three episodes * Jon Lovitz played Artie * Susan Lucci played herself in multiple guest appearances * Mary Tyler Moore played Diane in "Free Elka" and "Love Is All Around" * Rhea Perlman played the lazy housekeeper in "Everything Goes Better With Vampires" * Regis Philbin played Pierre in two episodes * Carl Reiner played Carl and Max in multiple guest appearances * Andy Richter played Melanie's former priest in "Claus, Tails & High Pitched Males: Birthdates 3" * Don Rickles played Bobby in "Elka's Wedding" and "Elka's Choice" * Joan Rivers played Elka's twin sister in "Bye George, I Think He's Got It!" * Doris Roberts played Elka's old friend in "Dancing Queens" * Amy Sedaris played Heather in two episodes * Sherri Shepherd played Judge Lesser in "Hot for the Lawyer" * Fred Willard played Doctor Hill in "A Box Full of Puppies" * Betty White plays series regular Elka Ostrovsky Hustle The fourth episode of the BBC series features Robert Vaughn's character standing in front of a store with a Tutter doll in the window display. iCarly In the crossover with sister show Victorious called "iParty with Victorious", Sam Puckett (Jennette McCurdy) insults a ventriloquist dummy named Rex Powers during a rap scene by calling him "a rejected Muppet." Connections *Jack Black played Aspartamay in the episode "iStart a Fanwar." *Jimmy Fallon appeared in "iShock America." *Tina Fey appeared in "iShock America." *Jane Lynch played Sam Puckett's mother Pam in "iSam's Mom." *Michelle Obama guest starred as herself in "iMeet the First Lady." *Jim Parsons played Caleb in "iLost My Mind." *The Roots appeared in "iShock America." *Emma Stone made a cameo in "iFind Spencer Friends". The IT Crowd In the season three episodes "Are We Not Men?" and "Calendar Geeks", Roy (Chris O'Dowd) wears t-shirts of a pixellated Kermit the Frog and Bert and Ernie. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia In the season one episode "The Gang Gives Back", Dee (Kaitlin Olson, who guest starred in a Late Night Buffet pilot) wears a yellow pantsuit, and her friend Mac tells her she looks like Big Bird. In the season three episode "Mac is a Serial Killer" a pimp named Pepper Jack mistakes Dee for one of his prostitutes. Her brother Dennis offers to buy her back for seven dollars and a Fraggle Rock thermos. Pepper Jack agrees, enthusiastically saying he loves the show. ;Connections *Roger Bart appears in "The Gang Tries Desperately To Win An Award" *Danny DeVito plays Frank Reynolds The Jamie Foxx Show In the season one episode "Break Yourself, Fool," Jamie and Braxton become robbery hostage at a bank. One of the robbers refers to the two as Bert and Ernie. Connections * Ruth Buzzi played Judge Jackson in "I've Fallen and I Won't Get Up" * Michael Clarke Duncan played an inmate in "A Little Red Corvette" * Jamie Foxx played Jamie King and Tyrone Koppel * Savion Glover played Nile in "Taps for Royal" * Gladys Knight as Janice King in "Save the Drama for your Mama" and "Always and Forever" * Sherri Shepherd played Sheila * Ben Vereen played Royal in "Taps for Royal" Jessie A Disney Channel sitcom. * In the episode "Glue Dunnit: A Sticky Situation," Emma mentions Mrs. Chesterfield has more feathers in her outfit than Big Bird. Later in the episode, Ravi interrogates his sister Zuri as a suspect. To get a confession, Ravi promises candy. In agreement, Zuri tells him, "I'm about to squeal like Miss Piggy." * In the episode "Snack Attack," Jessie asks if her audition would be more memorable if she did the whole thing in a Grover voice. Judging Amy * In the fifth season episode "Motion Sickness", Kyle is having his morning coffe and asks a bunch of plush toys if everyone slept well. The toys include Ernie, Big Bird and Cookie Monster. Later in the episode, Donna asks Kyle to hand her an Elmo plush. ;Connections * Amy Brenneman played Amy Gray and co-created the series * Pat Crawford Brown played a waitress in "The Out of Towners" (2000) and "Come Back Soon" (2002) * Stephen Caffrey played Prosecuting Attorney Weims in "Crowded House" (1999) * Tyne Daly played Maxine Gray * Julie Dretzin played Sarah Blixman in four episodes (2001) * James Frawley directed fifteen episodes * Bob Gunton played Dr. Alan Foster in three episodes (2003-2004) * Jane Lynch played Assistant State's Attorney Perkins in three episodes (1999-2000) * Cheech Marin played Ignacio Messina (2004-2005) * Marlee Matlin played Eliza Spears in "An Impartial Bias" (1999) * Jenny O'Hara played Mrs. Costin in "Tricks of the Trade" (2003) * Sandra Oh played Detective Shelly Tran in three episodes (2001) * Jim Parsons played Rob Holbrook in seven episodes (2004-2005) * Jon Polito played D.A. Gerald Abner in two episodes (2004) * Vic Polizos played Detective Jesmer in "Gray vs. Gray" (2000) * Raphael Sbarge played Paul Brody in "Human Touch" (2000) * Karle Warren played Lauren Cassidy Just Shoot Me! * In the season 3 episode "Steamed" Jack refers to the tenant above his office as Oscar the Grouch. * In the episode, "Puppetmaster," Maya starts dating a guy, Steven, who is a puppeteer on a children's show. When Maya asked Steven how he got started with puppets, Steven replies he was obsessed with Sesame Street in college and how Cookie Monster's talking made sense when you are stoned. Maya says that Oscar the Grouch must have made him paranoid, and Steven mentions that Big Bird look delicious. ;Connections * Tyra Banks appeared in "Nina Sees Red" * Bernie Brillstein was executive producer on the series * Steve Carell played the Border Control Agent in "Funny Girl" * Snoop Dogg appeared in "Finch in the Dogg House." * Elliott Gould appeared in "Hot Nights in Paris" * Melissa Joan Hart played Krissy in "A&E Biography: Nina Van Horn" * Mark Hamill appeared in "The List" * David Hasselhoff appeared in "The Burning House" * Jay Leno appeared in "Secretary's Day" and "Liotta? Liotta!" * Ray Liotta appeared in "Christmas? Christmas!" and "Liotta? Liotta!" * Jon Lovitz played Nina's husband in "A Simple Kiss Of Fate" * George Lucas appeared in "It's Raining Babies" * Ed McMahon appeared in "Finch on Ice" * Megan Mullally played Stephanie Griffin-Cooper in "Amblushed" * Stephen Root played the corporate therapist in "Blush Gets Some Therapy" * Amy Sedaris played Betsy in "The Two Faces of Finch" * Brooke Shields played Erlene in "Erlene and Boo" * French Stewart played Steven in "Puppetmaster" Key & Peele *A season 2 "Obama and Luther" sketch references Mitt Romney's remark toward Big Bird in the 2012 President debates. Luther angrily yells, "How you gonna fire Sesame Street?! One of those motherfuckers already lives in a trashcan!" *In the season 3 episode "Les Mis," substitute teacher Mr. Garvey insults a student's hairdo, calling it "Fraggle Rock hair." *In the season 3 episode "Sexy Vampires," a zombie extra played by Jordan Peele uses one take of a film to make his zombie make high pitched squeaks. Another zombie extra, played by Keegan-Michael Key, calls them "Beaker sounds." ;Connections *Wayne Brady appears in "Michael Jackson Halloween" Kids in the Hall In one sketch from season 5, a little boy is waiting for the Chicken Lady (Mark McKinney) to finish riding a quarter horse at the mall. He asks "Are you Big Bird?" and the Chicken Lady replies, "No, but I want to meet him, 'cause the Bearded Lady says they call him Big Bird 'cause he's got a really big--" at which point the boy's mother prevents the Chicken Lady from finishing the sentence. ;Connections *Frank Meschkuleit puppeteered the cat in the 2010 miniseries Death Comes to Town. *Dan Redican served as a story editor and producer. *Sandra Shamas was a troupe member during the troupe's formative years. King of the Hill *'"Plastic White Female"' - Hank and Peggy are arguing over whose fault it is for how their son Bobby turned out. Hank accuses Peggy of letting Bobby watch "all them Muppets! ... They got frogs kissin' pigs - what the hell did they think was gonna happen?" * "Hilloween" - One of the costumes Hank mentions at the store is Elmo. *'"Goodbye Normal Jeans"' - Peggy overhears Hank watching a Thanksgiving Day parade on TV with Bobby. She hears Hank say to Bobby, "That Miss Piggy balloon has the same hairdo as your mother." *'"Stressed for Success"' - In a discussion about the presence of pop culture in academics, Boomhauer points out that Oberlin College has a course on the Muppets. *'"Edu-macating Lucky"' - Lucky comments on Luanne's sense of humor: "I'm datin' a regular Fozzie Bear." *One episode is titled It's Not Easy Being Green. ;Connections *Christina Applegate played an Attorney in "My Hair Lady" (2004) *Tom Arnold played Norm Glidewell in "Megalo Dale" (2003) *Jason Bateman played Dr. Leslie in "The Petriot Act" (2005) *Laura Dern voices Katherine *Snoop Dogg played Alabaster Jones in "Ho, Yeah!" (2001) *Carmen Electra played Angela in " Boxing Luanne" (2003) *Sally Field played Junie Harper in "Hilloween" (1997) *Brendan Fraser played David Kalaiki-Alii in "Peggy Makes the Big Leagues" (2000) and Irv Bennett/Jimmy Beardon in "Gone with the Windstorm" (2005) *Paul Giamatti voiced Mr. McKay in "It's Not Easy Being Green" (2001) *John Goodman played Tommy in "Serpunt" (2007) *Vince Gill played Assistant Pastor Larry in "Peggy's Fan Fair" (2000) and Boomhauer's Singing Voice in "The Bluegrass Is Always Greener" (2002) *Jeff Goldblum played Dr. Vayzosa in "The Substitute Spanish Prisoner" (2002) *Michael Keaton played Trip Larsen in "Pigmalion" (2003) *Heather Locklear played Ms. Donovan in "Old Glory" (2000) *Lindsay Lohan played Jenny Medina in "Talking Shop" (2004) *William H. Macy played Dr. Rubin in " Pregnant Paws" (1998) *Debra Messing played Mrs. Hilgren-Bronson in "Get Your Freak Off" (2002) *Mary Tyler Moore played Reverend Karen Stroup in "Revenge of the Lutefisk" (1999) *Kathy Najimy played Peggy Hill *Willie Nelson played himself in "Hank's Got the Willies" (1997) *Alan Rickman played King Philip in "Joust Like a Woman" (2002) *John Ritter played Eugene Grandy in "The Son That Got Away" (1997), "What Makes Bobby Run?" (2000), and "Witches of East Arlen" (2003) *Chris Rock played Roger 'Booda' Sack in "Traffic Jam" (1998) *Ben Stiller played Rich in "That's What She Said" (2004) *Meryl Streep played Aunt Esme Dauterive in "A Beer Can Named Desire" (1999) *Randy Travis played himself in "Peggy's Fan Fair" (2000) *Danny Trejo played Enrique in 17 episodes *Travis Tritt played Walt in "Livin' on Reds, Vitamin C and Propane" (2003) *Fred Willard played a voice in "Lupe's Revenge (2001)", Officer Brown in "New Cowboy on the Block" (2003), Ranger Bradley/Reclining Hippie in "Phish and Wildlife" (2004), and Officer Brown in "Doggone Crazy" (2008) and "The Accidental Terrorist" (2008) *Henry Winkler played himself in "A Rover Runs Through It" *Reese Witherspoon played Debbit in "Hanky Panky" and "High Anxiety" (2000) King of the Nerds A competitive reality show on TBS, where nerds compete to become the "King of Nerds". The show is hosted by Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstrong. * During the presentation of one of the contestants for the second season, contestant Katie Correll reveals that she's a roboticist. But while all of her friends are building spaceships, she's building puppets as an intern on Sesame Street. * In the second episode of the second season, Robert Carradine dressed up like Beaker, when he and co-host Curtis Armstrong present the King of the Nerds Science Fair to the contestants. * In the fifth episode of season three, the contestants played "Name that Nerd"; during a fast edit of the answers, Jim Henson was mentioned. ;Connections *George Takei appeared as a judge in season one and two. *Billy Dee Williams was a judge on season two in a debate on about Star Wars vs. Star Trek. *Kevin Sorbo was a judge on season two for an live action role-playing competition *Bill Nye was a judge on season two for the King of the Nerds Science Fair *Tara Strong was a judge on the cosplay competition for the third season. *Lisa Loeb was a judge on the "nerd anthem" competition for the third season. *Penn Jillette appeared in season three, as a celebrity nerd. The King of Queens thumb|300px|right|Arthur talks to Carrie about Sesame Street *In the second season episode "Flower Power," Doug takes Carrie to Coney Island to the carnival fair booths. One of the game booths has a Ernie doll. *In the third season episode, "Twisted Sitters," Doug and Carrie are watching Deacon and Kelly's kids while they are out of town. When Doug came back from work, Carrie told him that she and the kids were watching Elmopalooza three times in a row and fielded some tough questions about Bert and Ernie's relationship. *In the sixth season episode "Secret Garden," when Carrie sees Spence (Patton Oswalt) in his bathing get-up (a shower cap, blue robe and large scrub brush), she claims "he looks like Ernie, from Sesame Street." *In the eighth season episode "Sold-Y Locks," Robert Goulet tells Doug that he once performed in a Muppet special with Jamie Lee Curtis in which she sang a haunting duet with Fozzie Bear. *In a later season eight episode, "Four Play," Carrie and Arthur share the following exchange: :Arthur: I've dealt with this type of character when I worked as a production assistant on a little show called Sesame Street. :Carrie: You worked on Sesame Street? :Arthur: Sure, from March of '76 to mid-March of '76. Anyway, I can't name names, but I had a similar situation with a large bird with an even bigger ego. :Carrie: Big Bird? :Arthur: You said it, I didn't. ;Connections *Leigh-Allyn Baker plays Jessica in episode 902 "Affair Trade" *Peter Boyle plays Frank Barone also in episode 109: "Road Rayge" *Erik Estrada appeared in "Gorilla Warfare." *Joe Flaherty plays Father McAndrew, priest at the Heffernan's Church *Brad Garrett plays Robert Barone in episode 109: "Road Rayge" *Florence Henderson in episode 308: "Dark Meet" *William Hurt in episode 425: "Shrink Wrap" *Kevin James plays Doug Heffernan *Robert Klein in episode 211: "Sparing Carrie" *Ricki Lake plays Stephanie Heffernan, Doug's sister *Sam McMurray plays Supervisor Patrick O'Boyle, Doug's boss *Anne Meara plays Veronica Olchin, Spence's mother *Jenny O'Hara plays Janet Heffernan, Doug's mother *Donny Osmond in episode 110: "Supermarket Story" and episode 217: "Meet By-Product" *Doris Roberts plays Marie Barone in episode 119: "Rayny Day" *Eric Roberts in episode 314: "Paint Misbehavin´" *Ray Romano plays Ray Barone in episodes 109: "Road Rayge", 119: "Rayny Day" 208: "Dire Strayts" and 810: "Raygin Bulls" *Pat Sajak appears in episode 317: "Inner Tube" *Adam Sandler in episode 909: "Mild Bunch" *Steve Schirripa in episode 116: "S'Ain't Valentine's" *Ben Stiller in episode 425: "Shrink Wrap" *Jerry Stiller plays Arthur Spooner *Nicole Sullivan plays Holly Shumpert *Vanna White appeared in episode 317: "Inner Tube" The Knights of Prosperity *'"Pilot"' - When Eugene wants to enter the building to find out which key fits Mick Jagger's appartment, Esperanza has to distract the doorman that stays behind, while the other doorman goes for a cup of coffee. When he leaves the building, this is referred to as "Big Bird has left its nest." Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks is a documentary produced by BBC that aired on PBS in August 2016. It tells the story of Penny Patterson, an animal psychologist who, beginning in 1971, trained a gorilla named Koko to communicate using sign language. One photo in which Koko reads her popular children's book Koko's Kitten features a Kermit the Frog doll amongst her toys. The L.A. Complex * In the episode "Help Wanted," Nick Wagner refers to his boss Scott Cray, who allowed him to take the blame for bringing drugs to work and get fired for it, as "...a Muppet without its fur." * In the episode "Make It Right," Raquel Westbrook refers to the two filmmakers Cam and Kevin as "Bert and Ernie." Last Comic Standing Season 6: *In the "international audition" episode, an Israeli prop-comic does an imitation of Grover by placing a blue wig on his head and wiggling around. *In episode 9, the comics have to look for props for a prop comedy routine. Marcus finds a blue dishwashing glove, and remarks, "This is what happens when Cookie Monster was lonely and he didn't listen to his parents ..." The Last Man on Earth *In episode 6 of season 2, Carol lists the pros and cons of having a baby in the new post-apocalyptic environment. One of the cons she lists is "No Sesame Street". ;Connections *Kristen Schaal plays Carol *Mary Steenburgen plays Gail Let's Make a Deal Let's Make a Deal is a game show which has aired in various incarnations since 1963. On the episode of November 16, 2009, the audience helps Wayne Brady count $800 to a contestant who refused a deal (which turned out to be a Zonk!). He stops at $500, the audience continues counting, and Wayne remarks, "It's like Sesame Street for grown-ups or something" On the episode of October 26, 2012, the second game involved an audience poll using three multiple-choice questions. The third question was "Cookie Monster" or "Monster Truck". The correct answer was Cookie Monster which the contestant guessed correctly. On the episode of February 19th, 2014, after a contestant returns to his seat, Wayne quips about how he dances like a Muppet. On the episode of March 10th, 2014, the second game involved an audience poll using three multiple-choice questions. The second question was "Bert" or "Ernie". The correct answer was Ernie (which the contestant missed). Connections *Lance Bass played the game on Gameshow Marathon. *Gilbert Gottfried appeared in a Celebrity Zonk! in a Gameshow Marathon episode. *Ricki Lake hosted the show Gameshow Marathon which featured Let's Make a Deal in one of the episodes. *Kathy Najimy played the game on Gameshow Marathon. *Leslie Nielsen played the game on Gameshow Marathon. Life's Too Short Life's Too Short is a BBC comedy series featuring Warwick Davis who plays a fictional version of himself. *In a promo for the series, Ricky Gervais is sitting on a stairway with Davis dressed as a frog. Gervais says that he had the opportunity to combine two favorite things in fiction: Robin from The Muppets and Warwick Davis, who comments that he's just glad that he didn't bring the puppeteer. Connections *Helena Bonham Carter *Johnny Depp *Liam Neeson *Right Said Fred The Listener In the episode "Lockdown", Osman 'Oz' Bey comforts the daughter of a quarantined patient with food. Leaving her with the plate, he suggests: "Can you keep an eye on them, make sure there's no Cookie Monsters running around?" Little Britain * In the pilot episode, Marjories Dawes asks a fat kid what names the bullies at school call him. Suggesting the names in a mocking tone, she asks if they called him "Pigs in Space." * In Season 3 episode 6, Linda insultingly described a group of multi-ethnic or physically diverse students as "the cast of Fraggle Rock." Little Britain USA *In Season 1, episode 6, Ellie-Grace, while sharing loving sentiments with her mother before parting with her for a short time, tells her mother that she loves her more then "Sesame Street". *In Season 1, episode 6, Marjorie Dawes asked her fat-fighters groups about nicknames they get called. She asked if they get called "Pigs in Space" (with the same echoing intonation used by the Announcer). ;Connections *Rosie O'Donnell played herself in the first episode Living Single * In the episode, "Stormy Weather," Max is watching television and shouts, "I will tell you how to get to Sesame Street. You take Puke-Avenue." ;Connections *Kim Fields played Regina Hunter *Gladys Knight played Odelle Jones in "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "One Degree of Separation" *Queen Latifah played Khadijah James *Phill Lewis played J.T. in "U.N.I.T.Y." *Ed McMahon appeared in "Crappy Birthday" *Sam McMurray played Marco McCulloch in "Misleading Lady" and "To Catch a Thief" *Isaiah Washington played Dr. Charles Roberts in Season 4 *Flip Wilson appeared in "Crappy Birthday" Luther * In Series 2, Episode 2, Alice Morgan tells John Luther they can travel the world as a duo: "Yin and Yang. Bonnie and Clyde. Bert and Ernie." Luxury Comedy * King Tutta '- Noel calls Smooth, "Fraggle" Make It Pop In the episode "Summer Splash", Sun Hi says "We're just musical puppets. And I'm no one's Muppet!" ;Connections * Nancy O'Dell appeared in "Summer Splash." Malcolm in the Middle *'Malcolm's Girlfriend - After recently breaking up with a cute girl, Malcolm decides to "go back" and play in the moon bouncer at the birthday party for his little brother Dewey's new friend. As he does, the Sesame Street Theme plays (the 1998-2001 version), and then suddenly stops when Malcolm wrecks the moon bouncer. *'Cheerleader' - A subplot involves Dewey wanting a Tickle Me Elmo-type doll called Sleepy-Time Herbie, a blue aardvark. They are very expensive and can be ordered by a special TV offer, and Dewey hallucinates the Herbie talking directly to him from the TV. Once he gets the Herbie, he imagines it saying "Break me." *'Lois Strikes Back' - While Malcolm argues with his mom, he asks her if it felt good to cut through Elmo's neck. *'Standee' - Hal tries to make peace with the garbageman, but Reese brings him a new bag of garbage and remarks, "Hey Oscar, here's your lunch!" *'Tiki Lounge' - Reese remarks, "I can't wait to see the look on Jamie's face when he tries to tickle what's left of Elmo." ;Connections *Jason Alexander played Leonard in "Future Malcolm" (2003) *Dakota Fanning played Emily in "New Neighbors" (2001) *Cloris Leachman played Grandma Ida *Christopher Lloyd played Walter in "Family Reunion" (2002) *Hayden Panettiere had a recurring role as Jessica in some episodes. *Andy Richter played Dr. Kennedy in "Clip Show" (2002) *Susan Sarandon played Meg in "Company Picnic" (2002) *Florence Stanley played Mrs. Griffin in "Old Mrs. Old" (2001) *Meagen Fay played Gretchen in seasons 4-5 *Drew Massey played Mr. Waffles in "Reese Comes Home" (2004) Mama's Family In the season one episode, "Positive Thinking," Eunice gets angry when she finds out most of her lines for a play were given to a scene-stealing actress named Sally. When Sally says Eunice is lucky that the theater would let her on stage, Eunice replies back, "Well, I don't see you on Broadway, Miss Piggy!" ;Connections * Carol Burnett played Eunice * Imogene Coca played Gert in "Aunt Gert Rides Again" * Richard Dawson appeared in "Family Feud" * Harvey Korman played Ed Higgins and directed some episodes. * Jerry Reed played Leonard Oates in "The Return of Leonard Oates" * Alex Trebek appeared in "Mama on Jeopardy!" * Betty White played Ellen Jackson Maron In the second season episode, "Desert Road Trip", Marc Maron tells his friends that he's going to be a guest on Charlie Rose, and Andy Kindler mentions that Kermit the Frog has been interviewed by Rose. ;Connections * Ed Asner as Marc's dad (unaired pilot) * Chris Hardwick as himself * Judd Hirsch as Larry * Sally Kellerman as Toni * Denis Leary as himself * Conan O'Brien as himself * Eddie Pepitone as Stu Carbone * Caroline Rhea as herself * Ray Romano as himself * Sarah Silverman as herself * Danny Trejo as Manny Martin In the fifth season episode, "One Flew Over the Hoochie's Nest," Martin Payne (Martin Lawrence) tries to rescue Pam James (Tichina Arnold) from the mental hospital after being mistaken for her twin cousin Tammy. At the mental hospital, Cole Brown, Martin's friend, and his girlfriend, Shanise McGullicuddy, are watching the TV. When Shanise notices that Sesame Street is on, Cole asks his girlfriend, "Was Big Bird a boy or a girl?" Also when Martin is bringing food for Pam's party and makes a joke about her, Pam calls him " Tickle me Earmo." ;Connections * Shaun Baker appeared in "Snow White" * Halle Berry appeared * Coolio appeared in "All the Players Came" * Kim Fields played Monica in "Radio Days" * David Alan Grier played The Reverend Leon Lonnie Love * Sherman Hemsley played the rude DMV clerk in "D.M.V. Blues" * Rebecca Lobo appeared in "Banging Hard in the School Yard" * Whitman Mayo appeared in "All the Players Came" * Richard Pryor appeared * Lou Rawls appeared in "California, Here We come" * Christopher "Kid" Reid appeared in "Forever Sheneneh" * Little Richard played the exterminator in "Three Men and a Mouse" * Chris Rock played Sheneneh's disrespectful date in "The Love Jones Connection" * Mr. T appeared in "Boo's in the House" * Billy Dee Williams appeared in "The Break Up" The Martin Short Show In the third episode, "A Hippo Never Forgets," Martin tries to get onto The Lovey Show (a Barney spoof). His agent tells him he can instead get him a guest spot on Sesame Street, doing a song and dance with "that big bird...what's his name?" ;Connections *Andrea Martin plays Alice *Steve Martin plays himself in "The Steve Martin Show" *Martin Short plays a fictionalized version of himself and other celebrities *George Wendt plays Lovey in "A Hippo Never Forgets" *Fred Willard plays Martin's agent in "A Hippo Never Forgets" Mary Shelley's Frankenhole On the second season of the Adult Swim animated comedy about Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the world of the monsters, Count Alongwithme (a spoof of Count von Count) has become a regular character of Dracula's vampire entourage. Men at Work In the season one episode "Plan B", Gibbs (James Lesure) and Tyler (Michael Cassidy) gets a discount on a gym membership by pretending to be a gay couple. They are having difficulties figuring out how gay they need to act. Tyler thinks it should be like Bert and Ernie: "You are not sure they are gay, but you can't prove they are not". Gibbs agree and calls Tyler "Bert". Afterwards Tyler tells Ernie (Gibbs) to keep his Rubber Duckie‎ in his pants, after Gibbs was taking a closer look at one of the women that passes by. The Mentalist A procedural drama on CBS with some comedic elements centering on Patrick Jane, who formerly posed as a psychic, but became a consultant for a team in the California Bureau of Investigation following the murder of his wife and daughter by a serial killer. In an episode of the program's second season, "Red Bulls" (11/14/2009), a member of another team refers to Wayne Rigsby (one of Jane's co-workers) as "Bert." Talking about it with his partner, Cho Kimball, Kimball reveals that he already knew that they were being referred to jointly as "Bert and Ernie." Rigsby asks if this bothers Kimball, but he says it doesn't because "Ernie's the clever, handsome one." In the episode "Rose-Colored Glasses" (01/14/2010) from season 2, the team investigates an incident inside a high school that happened 20 years earlier. During a conversation between LJ and Phil (at their joint high school reunion), LJ asks Phil if anyone still calls him "Frog Man." Phil answers "Pretty much everyone calls me Phil, except for my son who calls me dad." LJ replies, "You fathered a kid? Go, Frog Man! Wait - does he play the french horn too? Because if he does, then you could call him Frog Boy, or, Kermit!" ;Connections: *John Aylward played Professor Stutzer in the first season episode "Red Brick and Ivy" *Eugene Byrd played Russell Bigelow in the second season episode "Red Letter" *M. C. Gainey played Pete in the third season episode "Cackle-Bladder Blood" *Bob Gunton played Alexander Harrington in the second season episode "Red All Over" *Jon Polito played Duesterberg in the second season episode "Red Herring" *Raphael Sbarge played Hollis Dunninger in the season two episode "Redemption" The Middle The Middle is a 2009 ABC sitcom. *In "The Award" (Season 5 Episode 14), Brick Heck (Atticus Shaffer) states, after getting a new suit and faced with the possibility of not going to an event, that his whole life he had "looked like Bert and/or Ernie." This refers to Brick's horizontally- and vertically-striped shirts. *In "Homecoming II: The Tailgate" (Season 7 Episode 7), Sean Donahue (Beau Wirick) appears with longer hair and a beard, to which his mother Nancy Donahue (Jen Ray) apologetically explains to Frankie Heck (Patricia Heaton) "He's just trying it out; doesn't mean anything. Jesus had a beard. And Jim Henson. And none of them were doing drugs, I can tell you that!" ;Connections * Patricia Heaton plays Frankie Heck * Eden Sher plays Sue Heck *Julianne Buescher played Woman Customer *Kirstie Alley *Edward Asner played Ben *Mindy Cohn *Brian Doyle-Murray *Rachel Dratch played Principal Barker *Whoopi Goldberg played Jane Marsh *Cheryl Hines played Dr Sommer Samuelson *Keegan-Michael Key played Reverend Deveaux *Jimmy Kimmel played himself *Jack McBrayer plays Dr Ted Goodwin *Doris Roberts *Ray Romano played Nicky Kohlbrenner *Amy Sedaris *Molly Shannon *Brooke Shields played Rita Glossner *French Stewart played Principal Cameron *Nicole Sullivan *Dick van Dyke played Dutch Spence Mike & Molly *In the season one episode, "Molly Gets a Hat," Mike's mother Peggy gives Molly a hat as a present of goodwill. When Molly doesn't like the hat, Mike gives the hat to his police partner Carl's grandma. Carl tells Mike that his grandma loves ugly hats and that she has one that looks like Bert and Ernie in a caged match. *In the season 5 episode, "Hack to the Future," Molly tells her family and Mike that her publisher likes the book she has written and he says the book could become a phenomenon. When Mike heard that word, Mike started to dance and shout, "Phenomena! do doo do do doo." *In the season 6 episode, "One Small Step for Mike," Molly's mother, Joyce, calls Vince "Cookie Monster" when she finds him eating cookies that were thrown away in the trash can. ;Connections * Tim Conway played Brian in "School Recital" * Billy Gardell plays Mike * Phill Lewis directed episodes * Chuck Lorre is executive producer and writer of the series * Melissa McCarthy plays Molly and directed episodes * Edie McClurg played Paula Martin in "Cocktails and Calamine" * Susan Sarandon played J.C. Small in "Careful What You Dig For" and "Who's Afraid of J.C. Small?" The Millers * In the episode, "The Mother is In," the Miller family is about to watch a movie on TV, but their father hasn't ordered a movie yet. If he didn't pick, Debbie Miller's daughter, Mikayla, would make them watch The Muppets for the twentieth time. Debbie says Mikayla is too young to see Gonzo's nose. Somehow, Mikayla got the TV remote and the family had to watch The Muppets. The father replied that it is ok since the green frog is a hoot. * In the episode, "Sex Ed Dolan," Carolyn talks about how she made Tom look good. "I learn how to dress him and how to steer him towards his best jokes. It's basically the technique that Jim Henson used to turn a pig into a movie star." ;Connections * Will Arnett played Nathan Miller * Roseanne Barr played Nathan's co-worker's mother in "Walk-n-Wave" * Sean Hayes played Kip Finkle in Season 2 * Phill Lewis directed "You Are the Wind Beneath My Wings, Man" * Andy Richter played Nathan's co-worker in "Walk-n-Wave" * Molly Shannon played Miss Pam in "Diggin' Up Bones" * Jeffrey Tambor played Ed in "Tomlandia" and "Sex Ed Dolan" The Mindy Project A former Fox/current Hulu television series about a young(-ish) Ob/Gyn Mindy Lahiri balancing her personal and professional life, surrounded by quirky co-workers in a small office. In the episode "Mindy's Minute," while riding in a taxi, a video plays starring Mindy, teaching women about osteoporosis dressed as "Rowlf the Dog from The Muppets," while wearing a sock puppet on her hand. ;Connections * Michael Albala plays Gabe Mueller-Green in one episode * Utkarsh Ambudkar plays Rishi Lahiri * Vanessa Bayer plays Mary in one episode * Nate Berkus appears as himself in one episode * Kerry Butler plays Ann Marie Kimball-Kinney in one episode * Dan Castellaneta plays Marty in one episode * Stephen Colbert plays Father Michael in one episode * Common appears as a security guard in one episode * Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Matt Sherman in one episode * Bill Hader plays Tom McDougall * Mindy Kaling plays Mindy Lahiri, and executive produces the show * Hal Linden plays Manny in one episode * Maria Menounos appears as herself in two episodes * Shawne Merriman appears as himself in one episode * Seth Meyers plays Matt in two episodes * Kunal Nayyar plays Sendhil in one episode * Ne-Yo plays Marcus in two episodes * Randall Park plays Colin * Nasim Pedrad plays Dr. Jasmin Maloof * Jordan Peele plays Nick in one episode * Rhea Perlman plays Annette Castellano * Seth Rogen plays Sam Kleinfeld in one episode * Richard Schiff plays a doctor in one episode * Yeardley Smith plays Carolyn in two episodes * Amar'e Stoudemire appears as himself in one episode * Stephen Tobolowsky plays Marc Shulman * Vanessa Williams plays Dr. Phillips in one episode Modern Family An ABC television series about the life of three interconnected families told in style, Modern Family premiered in 2009 and it has won the Best Comedy Emmy two years in a row. * In "Unplugged," while waiting for an interview at the pre-school, Cameron thinks that one of Lily's strong points could be the fact that "she always perks up whenever we watch Charlie Rose." Mitchell states it was a one-time occurrence, mainly because Elmo was a guest. * In "Hit and Run", Cameron and Mitchell mistakenly enter a showing of The Muppets. Believing they are going to watch a film with a lot of blood and gore, Cam tries to convince a father to leave the cinema before the movie starts. When he leaves, he explains to the other family that he was "always a fan the Muppets, especially of the two guys in the theater who wouldn't shut up". Once at home, they retell their story to their extended family. When their daughter, Lily, overhears that they were kicked out of The Muppets she responds sorrowfully, asking, "you saw the Muppet movie without me?" Mitchell tries to convince her that they only watched "just the first two numbers". * In "Haley's 21st Birthday," Claire and Haley drunkenly decide to get matching mother-daughter tattoos. Upon hearing this, Cameron decides that he and Mitchell will also get matching tattoos saying "Ernie" and "Bert." * In "Spring Break," Phil cites Kermit the Frog as one of his inspirations for taking up the banjo. ;Connections * Julie Bowen plays Claire Dunphy * Ty Burrell plays Phil Dunphy * Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays Mitchell Pritchett * Nolan Gould plays Luke Dunphy * Sarah Hyland plays Haley Dunphy * Nathan Lane plays Pepper Saltzman * James Marsden played Barry in "Slow Down Your Neighbors" * Ed O'Neill plays Jay Pritchett * Rico Rodriguez plays Manny Delgado * Eric Stonestreet plays Cameron Tucker * Danny Trejo played Gus in "Dance Dance Revelation" * Sofia Vergara plays Gloria Delgado-Pritchett * Fred Willard plays Frank Dunphy Mr. Show with Bob and David In a sketch from the first episode, co-creator/actor David Cross breaks character to complain about the sketch, claiming that "HBO spent more money on Fraggle Rock." MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge Parody dubbing of a Japanese game show called Takeshi's Castle that aired on Spike TV from 2003 to 2007. One episode featured Sesame Street cast members going up against Las Vegas entertainers and casino workers. The episode directly referenced Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Miss Piggy, Linda, Forgetful Jones, Gabi, Maria, Luis, Cookie Monster, Sunny Days, Tickle Me Elmo and Elmo's World The episode also used fake names as references such as Jam Henson, Guy Smalley, Ms. Scooper, Roscoe the Grouch, Frank Coz, Muppet Crack Babies, Snuff Film-upagus, Karl Grover, and Kermit the Fraud and his Colombian Rainbow Connection. They ended the episode by saying it was sponsored by the letters F, U and the number 2, over a parody arrangement of Sunny Days. Mr. Sunshine In the pilot episode Roman asks Ben if he knows the song "The Rainbow Connection." ;Connections *Allison Janney played Crystal Cohen Mulaney A FOX sitcom based on the stand-up comedy of John Mulaney, who also stars as the eponymous protagonist. In the season one episode "In the Name of the Mother, and the Son, and the Holy Andre," Jane (Nasim Pedrad) goes on a birth control pill which has side effects including high-pitched voice and "cartoonishness." Once Jane starts to feel the effects, her roommate, Motif warns her to get off the pill before she's cast in the next Muppet movie. In a later episode that season, "It's a Wonderful Home Alone," Lou Cannon mentions that he's booked the Zoggles, "the world's second-most beloved puppets," for his Christmas specials. John asks, "the Muppets have a thing in Dubai?" Lou replies, "the Muppets always have a thing in Dubai." Connections * Elliott Gould plays Oscar * Martin Short plays Lou Cannon My Life as a Teenage Robot In the episode, "Puppet Bride," one of Mrs. Wakeman's old creations, a robot puppet named "Li'l Acorn," tries to make Jenny his bride and have revenge on Mrs. Wakeman for abandoning him. When Jenny refuses to marry Li'l Acorn, he sends out an army of puppets to make her marry her. The puppet army include puppet parodies of Ernie and Bert. ;Connections * Cree Summer voiced Stephanie (one episode), Tiff, Queen Vexus (one episode), Vicky, and QT2 My So-Called Life In the first season episode "On the Wagon," Rayanne Graff watches a Bert and Ernie sketch. Later, while waiting on line at a movie theater with her friends Angela and Rickie, Rayanne breaks out into the ''Sesame Street'' theme song. NCIS: New Orleans In the season one episode "The Insider", Sebastian Lund (Rob Kerkovich) complains that Danny Malloy (Christopher Meyer) got to go to a crime scene. In response, Danny says "Today the crime scene, tomorrow your job, Big Bird" to which Sebastian replies "First of all, I consider me more like a Beaker than a Big Bird". Shortly after, Wade (CCH Pounder) tells "Beaker" to settle down as there's plenty of work for the two of them. Big Bird gets multiple mentions in the second season episode "I do". Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black) finds an image of Sonja Percy (Shalita Grant) on Facebook wearing a yellow dress to which he says "Big Bird called, and he wants his feathers back". Shortly after the agents have a video conference with Sebastian, Sonja checks up on a clue and Christopher interrupts her. Sonja complains that they are stealing her thunder to which Meredith Brody (Zoe McLellan) says "Yeah, by all means Big Bird continue". Sebastian quickly says "finally others are being called Big Bird around here". The Neighbors The Neighbors is an American television comedy series about a human family living among in a suburban community made up entirely of extraterrestrials. The series began airing on ABC in 2012. *In the season one episode "Merry Crap-Mas," as the leading alien family sits among the Weaver family's Christmas presents they wrongfully opened, Larry Bird says "Tell you what; let's watch [[The Muppet Christmas Carol|the Muppets' A Christmas Carol]] again! The Muppets, I like. I could really get down with the Muppets. Kermit: the frog's voice Jackie Joyner-Kersee, please press play!" Later on in the episode, Kermit singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (from A Red and Green Christmas) plays over a scene of Larry Bird contemplating having ruined Christmas for his neighbors, and Abby Weaver talking sense into him over a cup of tea. *In the season one episode "Cold War," Kermit the Frog is again a reappearing theme. Kermit can be seen twice, and heard several more times, singing "The Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie, as Max Weaver likes to watch the frog sing his trademark song on a loop to feel better when fighting the common cold (prompting Abby to mutter "You're ruining Kermit for me" at one point). ;Connections *Kristin Newman served as a writer and producer for the series Never Mind the Buzzcocks Never Mind the Buzzcocks was a long-running comedy panel game show focused on music that ran on BBC Two from 1996 to 2015. * In series 24, episode 12 (aired January 3, 2011), regular team captain Noel Fielding comments to comparatively tame guest panelist Michelle Williams, "It is cool hanging out with you, it's like being in an episode of Fraggle Rock," before saying in a high-pitched Muppety voice, "Hey, Noel, put down the crackpipe, life's great, everyone!" Connections * Bill Bailey was a regular team captain from 2002 to 2008. The New Normal The New Normal is an American television comedy series that began airing on NBC in 2012. In the pilot episode (originally aired on September 10, 2012), Jane Forrest launches a tirade explaining that Clay Clemmons' excuses had forced her to take drastic measures and seek a divorce. :Jane: (aiming what appears to be a lighter in the shape of a gun) You, Hello Kitty out. :Clay: Hey, that is a toy right? :Jane: You know something Clay. I have put up with you for the past nine years. I put up with your ridiculous Fozzie Bear impersonations, with your self diagnosed narcolepsy. :Clay: No, that's real, it's not just naps. Newhart A sitcom about a middle-aged couple who run an inn in Vermont, which ran on CBS from 1982 to 1990. In the episode "Dick the Kid," Dick Loudon spends a week at a Western ranch. On movie night, while the other residents want to watch High Noon, a tough resident wants to watch The Muppets Take Manhattan, and he almost gets his way until Dick takes a stand for the others. ;Connections *Jason Alexander guest starred in the episode "Courtin' Disaster". *Johnny Carson guest starred in the episode "Malling in Love Again". *Tim Conway guest starred as himself in "Dick and Tim" *Dave Coulier guest starred in the episode "The Prodigal Darryll". *Jack Dodson played Mr. Shaver in the episode "In the Beginning". *Merv Griffin guest starred in the episode "Hi, Society". *Don Knotts guest starred in the episode "Seeing Doubles". *Will Mackenzie directed certain episodes. *Ed McMahon guest starred in the episode "The Nice Man Cometh". *Brandon Maggart guest starred in the episode "The Boy Who Cried Goat". *Bob Newhart played Dick Loudon *Don Rickles guest starred in the episode "The Nice Man Cometh". *Nancy Walker played Aunt Louise in "Attack of the Killer Aunt" *Gedde Watanabe played Mr. Tagadachi in "The Last Newhart". NOVA scienceNOW * The November 21, 2006 episode of the PBS documentary series NOVA scienceNOW featured a segment on the development of sociable robots. One robot in particular, "Leonardo" developed by Cynthia Breazeal, is used in an on-camera study of recognition behavior. The tools used are an Elmo doll and a Cookie Monster puppet, which are presented to Leonardo and vocally asked to find the character by name. After a simple demonstration, the technician holds up Cookie Monster and asks Leonardo to find Elmo, but the robot cannot be tricked. (video) * The June 25, 2008 episode featured a segment about dark matter. As experts study what dark matter is, host Neil deGrasse Tyson discusses the ambiguity surrounding what the scientific community uses to describe the material that makes up 85% of the universe. The term has been applied ambiguously because the material is unobservable with current methods. Because of this, the label could just as easily have been called Ernie and Bert. (video) (The episode also features Wikia founder Jimmy Wales in a segment about statistics). Oh Madeline Short-lived 1983-84 ABC sitcom starring Madeline Kahn. In the episode "Ah, Wilderness," Madeline and her husband Charlie are stuck in the woods at night. They hear the sound of a bullfrog, which they affectionately refer to as "Kermit." One Tree Hill An hour-long young adult drama that premiered on the WB in September 2003. Set in Tree Hill, a fictional town in North Carolina, it revolves around half brothers Lucas and Nathan Scott (played by Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty). * In a season 3 episode, Peyton (Hilarie Burton) tells Pete Wentz that she was worried that he would become her Mr. Snuffleupagus, after he arrived at the cabin that they are staying in a few days late. When Pete questions what a Snuffleupagus is, Peyton tells him the story of Mr. Snuffleupagus, and how only Big Bird could see him. * In a season 4 episode, Lucas is showing Glenda his impression of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. Glenda, not knowing who he is impersonating, guesses that he is impersonating Elmo. * In a season 5 episode, Jamie (Jackson Brundage) talks to Brooke (Sophia Bush) about what color he wants his racecar. He says his parents want it red like Elmo, but he wants it blue, like Grover. * In a season 6 episode, Victoria (Daphne Zuniga) is helping Sam (Ashley Rickards) pick out a dress for Peyton's baby shower. Victoria picks out a green dress for Sam, but Sam doesn't take it, since it makes her look like Kermit the Frog. * In a season 8 episode, Nathan tests out the new stage by singing "Mahna Mahna". The recording from The Muppet Show is used. ;Connections * Bill Cobbs played Gus in "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream, Part 1" (2008) * Nick Lachey appeared as himself in two episodes (2009) * Kelly Collins Lintz played Alice (five episodes, 2008) * James van der Beek played Reese Dixon (four episodes, 2008-2009) Parks and Recreation A single-camera sitcom that aired on NBC from 2009-2015, revolving around the lives of the employees of the Pawnee, Indiana Parks and Recreation Department. In the season 7 episode, "The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show," children's TV show host (and former City Hall employee) Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) accidentally lets a dangerous spider loose in the studio, which leads to the network airing an on-air disclaimer. When slowed down and gone through frame-by-frame, it can be seen that halfway through the disclaimer, Dwyer briefly hijacks the message, saying "I had a dumb meeting with our dumb lawyer who was yelling at me for something I don't even know what it was he's so funny when he yells he looks like Beaker from the Muppets..." 'Connections' * Aziz Ansari played Tom Haverford * Billy Eichner played Craig Middlebrooks (2013-2015) * Jon Hamm played Ed (3 episodes, 2014-2015) * John Hodgman played August Clementine in "Anniversaries" (2014) * Rashida Jones played Ann Perkins * Keegan-Michael Key played Joe (5 episodes, 2014–2015) * Megan Mullally played Tammy Swanson (9 episodes, 2009-2015) * Nick Offerman played Ron Swanson * Amy Poehler played Leslie Knope * Richard Portnow played Mitch Savner (3 episodes, 2014) * Paul Rudd played Bobby Newport (5 episodes, 2012-2015) * Adam Scott played Ben Wyatt * Peter Serafinowicz played Lord Edgar Covington in the two-parter "London" (2013) and "The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show" (2015) * Jorma Taccone played Roscoe Santangelo (3 episodes, 2015) * Henry Winkler played Dr. Sapirstein (9 episodes, 2013-2015) Pawn Stars A reality show on the History Channel centered around the employees of the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the items brought into the shop to be sold. In the season eight episode, "Truly Trivial," Austin "Chumlee" Russell uses a book of trivia to try and stump shop owner Rick Harrison. One question concerns Cookie Monster's real name. Rick responds, "Sid," to Chumlee's bewilderment. Another episode saw a customer bring a vinyl Wilkins puppet into the shop to sell. The customer declined the offer. At the end of the episode, Corey tells Rick that if Rick were a Muppet, he'd be one of the old guys in the balcony complaining about everything. Rick retorts that he'd be Sam the Eagle, though Corey says the only thing they have in common is baldness. Rick then suggests Gonzo, but Chumlee decides he'd be Oscar the Grouch. Rick argues that Oscar was on Sesame Street, and doesn't count as one of the Muppets. Penn and Teller: Bullshit! On a fourth season episode of the Showtime documentary show entitled "Numbers," interviews are shown with two Washington, D.C. think-tank consultants. They are introduced by name and narrator Penn says "We asked them why there are so many songs about rainbows. They had no idea. They did know something about the national debt though." Perfect Couples In the first episode of the NBC comedy series, Amy attempts to play "Celebrity" on game night, and immediately bombs after giving a clue: "He's a Muppet ... he's a frog ..." The Proud Family Animated series that aired on the Disney Channel from September 2001 to August 2005. The show centered around an African-American teenager, Penny, her family, and her friends. Episode 214: Pulp Boot Camp: Penny's family sends her to boot camp because they fear she is becoming a bully, and she steals cookies from a little girl there. The sergeant catches her and says "Well, well. We have ourselves a little Cookie Monster." ;Connections *Soleil Moon Frye voiced Zoey *Kyla Pratt voiced Penny Proud *Tara Strong voiced Bebe Proud and Fluff Real Time with Bill Maher A topical comedy panel discussion show, airing on HBO, and led by the former host of Politically Incorrect, Bill Maher. On October 30, 2015, Maher presented a parody children's book called Everybody Shoots. The book includes a page (with appropriate illustration) that says: "You don't want to be caught/Without packing some heat/When Big Bird starts some shit/on Sesame Street." Reba * In the episode "The Good Girl", when Barbara Jean claims that she put a scratch in Van's car, and is worried about what he will say, Kyra says "It's true! He gets this look on his face where his two eyebrows murge together, and he looks like that Muppet who lives in the Trash Can!" (referring to Oscar the Grouch). ;Connections *Nell Carter played Dr. Susan Peters in three episodes *James Denton played Dr. Morgan in two episodes *Dolly Parton played Dolly Majors The Ricky Gervais Show * In the episode "Art" of HBO's animated comedy (based on the podcast with the same name), Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant explain that the only way to improve Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol was doing it with the Muppets and they go on to suggest new story ideas with the Muppets, such as The Muppets' Schindler's List (with Fozzie and Gonzo), Schindler's List in Space and Miss Piggy's Choice. * In one episode, Stephen Merchant describes an embarrassing school situation in which he dressed as a clown for charity, only to find that very few other kids had bothered to do so. The "two wanky nobs" who do so as well are dressed as (and have skin coloration similar to) Bert and Ernie. Rickygervaismuppets1.png Rickygervaismuppets2.png Rickygervaismuppets3.png Rickygervaismuppets4.png Rugrats Animated television show that first aired on Nickelodeon in 1991. This series focuses on the point of view of a group of babies, including Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, Phil and Lil, and Angelica Pickles. In the episode "Toys in the Attic," Tommy and Angelica's grandparents, Boris and Minka, argue over which one of them will turn on the "Sesame Seed" (Sesame Street). ;Connections *Craig Bartlett was a writer on the series during the show's initial 1991-1993 run *Justine Bateman voiced an art patron in the episode "Opposites Attract/The Art Museum" (1999) *Nancy Cartwright vocied Chuckie Finster (2001-today) *Dan Castellaneta voiced a lawyer in "Pickles vs Pickles" and Jonathan in "Jonathan Babysits" *Christine Cavanaugh voiced Chuckie Finster (1992-2000) *Margaret Cho voiced Lt. Klavin in The Rugrats Movie (1998) *Tim Curry voiced Nigel Thornberry in Rugrats Go Wild (2003) *E.G. Daily voiced Tommy Pickles *Whoopi Goldberg voiced Ranger Margaret in The Rugrats Movie (1998) *Lisa Loeb performed the song "All Day" for The Rugrats Movie soundtrack (1998) *John Lithgow voiced Jean-Claude in Rugrats in Paris *Mark Mothersbaugh composed music for the series. *Phillip Namanworth wrote songs for the series *Pat Paulsen voiced the garbageman in "Feeding Hubert/Spike the Wonder Dog" (1993) *Pat Sajak guest starred as himself in "Chuckie is Rich" (1993). *Susan Sarandon voiced Madame Coco LaBouche in Rugrats in Paris *Tara Strong voiced Dil Pickles and Timmy McNulty *Cree Summer voiced Susie Carmichael *Bruce Willis voiced Spike in Rugrats Go Wild (2003) Rules of Engagement * In the 2009 episode, "Buyer's Remorse," Russell says to the owner of the Island Diner, "Shouldn't you be in a balcony insulting Muppets?" * In the 2010 episode, "Harassment," Timmy challenges Jeff to a game of cricket to porve it isn't a sport for wimps. During the match, Russell says, "Dude, you're about to be struck out by Scooter from the Muppets!" ;Connections *Joan Collins appeared in "Les-bro" *Heather Locklear played Barbara in two episodes *Patrick Warburton played Jeff Running Wilde In the episode "One Forward Step", Steve suggests to Emmy that she use the laundry chute in the house, saying "You know there are people at the bottom of that thing? They've got their own subterranean world, kinda like Fraggle Rock." ;Connections *Will Arnett played Steve Wilde *Andy Richter played Dan Thorngood in "The Junior Affair" A Russell Peters Christmas In the stop motion animation segment "Little Russell Saves Christmas", Russell Peters' mother sends him to the store for "A Loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter". ; Connections * Michael Bublé as himself * Jon Lovitz as himself Sabrina, the Teenage Witch * In the episode "Sabrina Through the Looking Glass," Harvey used his puppet monkey for a school presentation with Sabrina. After class ended, Harvey mentions the project was a success with help from his puppet monkey. At that moment, Libby walks past them and said "Hey guys, can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?" * In the episode "Five Easy Pieces of Libby," Sabrina unwittingly turns Libby into a puzzle with pieces missing, forcing her to go on a quest to put Libby back together before it's too late. While finding the last piece in Libby's room with the Quizmaster, Sabrina read the last clue from the scroll, "One of these things is not like the other." The Quizmaster starts to sing, "One of these things just doesn't belong. Can you guess..." and then stops when Sabrina gives him a weird stare. ;Connections * Ashanti appeared in "Call Me Crazy" * Backstreet Boys appeared in "The Band Episode" * Ruth Buzzi played Deliah in "Good Will Haunting" * Aaron Carter appeared in "Beach Blanket Bizarro" * Dom DeLuise played Mortimer in "The Pom Pom Incident" (1998) * Barbara Eden played Great Aunt Irma (3 episodes, 2002-2003) * Thomas Fountain was lead puppeteer for Salem the Cat for the series and spin-offs * Soleil Moon Frye played Roxie King (2000-2003) * Gary Halvorson directed 28 episodes (1996-1999) * Melissa Joan Hart played Sabrina Spellman and directed episodes * *NSYNC appeared in "Sabrina and the Pirates" * Gary Owens played "Guy Who Thinks He's Gary Owens" in "Good Will Haunting" * Penn and Teller played Drell (4 episodes) and Skippy (2 episodes) respectively (1996-1997) * Caroline Rhea played Hilda Spellman * Nell Scovell created and produced the series, and wrote a number of episodes * Randy Travis appeared in "The True Adventures of Rudy Kazootie" * Usher appeared in "I Think I Love You" * Dick Van Dyke played Duke in "Welcome Back, Duke" (2000) * Chuck Vinson directed two episodes (1997-1998) * Raquel Welch played Aunt Vesta in "Third Aunt From the Sun" * George Wendt played Mike Shelby (6 episodes, 2001-2002) * Henry Winkler directed two episodes (2000-2002) Samurai Pizza Cats On Saban's English dub of Kyatto Ninden Teyandee, an episode features a giant Buddha statue that has a bird's face. One of the characters remarks, "A Big Bird? Go back to public television! We don't want your kind here!" The Sarah Silverman Program * In the last episode of the series, "Wowschwitz", Brian and Steve steal a gun from a cop and replace it with a banana. Referring to him as "Banana Cop" throughout the episode, the two sing a rendition of "Mahna Mahna" replacing the words with "Banana Cop." The episode ends with Sarah's dog going back in time to kill Hitler, preventing the Holocaust. In the present, an old man asks, "What never happened?" Brian: "The Holocaust." Steve: "Do doo do do do!" ;Connections * Sarah Silverman as "Sarah Silverman" * Jimmy Kimmel appeared in two episodes * Andy Richter appeared in "Fetus Don't Fail Me Now" Scream Queens A 2015 FOX Horror/Comedy series, starring Emma Roberts, Lea Michelle and Keke Palmer about a a killer stalking the sorority Kappa Kappa Tau. Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. *In the first season finale, it's revealed that Hester (played by Lea Michelle) lied multiple times on her college application, including listing her home address as "666 Sesame Street". ;Connections * Jamie Lee Curtis played Dean Munsch. * Nasim Pedrad played Gigi Caldwell * Nick Jonas played Boone Clemens Sealab 2021 * In the episode "Splitsville," one of the rock bands at the Battle of the Bands is named the Ocean Bottom Nightmare band, a reference to the Riverbottom Nightmare Band in Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. * In the season 4 episode "Craptastic Voyage", the crew undergoes a mission of entering Captain Shanks' body and destroying a tumor. Stormy comments, "Wow, a shrink ray. Just like that time on Muppet Babies! You know, when Scooter had spinal meningitis?" This is a reference to the Season 3 episode "Scooter's Uncommon Cold". Shortly afterwards, Stormy sets up a talk show similar to The Tonight Show, and fails to show a video clip from the episode. ;Connections * Erik Estrada voiced Marco the entire series. * Kid 'n Play appear as themselves in an episode sponsoring the fictional action movie Tinfins. The Secret Lives of Vampires A 2005 documentary produced for television by NBC studios looks at vampire culture and the history of such characters as Dracula. Examples include Count Chocula cereal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sesame Street’s Count von Count. Video footage of the sketch with the Count counting his mail is featured, as well as a photo of a stage version of the character. Secret Mountain Fort Awesome This series did poorly on Cartoon Network, causing them to pull it from the schedule after episode 8 of season 2. Episode 9 was titled "Labyrinth". It was unaired until picked up by Netflix. According to Wikipedia: "When Gweelok wishes that Jerry, the Goblin King, would come take his annoying friends away, he realizes how much he misses them and has to enter the twisted world of the Labyrinth to rescue them. This is the first time that Gweelok has legs for dancing." Shameless The 2011 US version of the UK series airing on Showtime set in Chicago's South Side Back of the Yards neighborhood. * From "Three Boys": ::Veronica: What good is a dress if I don't have a priest? ::Debbie: You could hire an actor. Remember the guy who played Elmo at my birthday party? ::Fiona: You remember that? ::Debbie: He took his head off. It was traumatizing. ;Connections * William H. Macy plays Frank Gallagher * Joan Cusack plays Sheila Jackson Shining Time Station A 1989 to 1997 PBS show that introduced Thomas the Tank Engine to America * From "Mr. Conductor's Movie" :: Stacy: Now Schemer, don't you think you should wait & see what the director needs? :: Schemer: Little lady, let me tell you what the director: needs he needs a star name because star names sell tickets! John Wayne, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Big Bird, and now Super Schemer! * In the episode "How to Have Style à la Schemer" (from the Schemer Presents video spin-off), Schemer does a Kermit the Frog voice when he shakes his mannequin to make it look like it's talking ;Connections * Ringo Starr played Mr. Conductor in the first season. * Olga Felgemacher puppeteered Didi, the drummer of the Jukebox Band. * Leonard Jackson played Harry Cupper in the first season and the special "One of the Family" * Gerry Parkes played Barton Winslow in the second & third season. * Paul Fierlinger animated the songs "Don't Be Afraid", "Baking a Cake" & "Follow Directions" in season 1. * Wayne Moss directed various episodes. * Myra Fried played Ms. Smith in a "Schemer Presents" short. * Joe Raposo composed the theme song on the show $#*! My Dad Says * In the series pilot, Ed has to retake his test for driver's license at the DMV. When Ed has to retake his eye exam, he says to the DMV applicator, Tim, that he shouldn't have to identify letters on the chart. Ed tells Tim that he has been driving for sixty years and that he has never been rear ended by a gigantic letter E. Tim replies, "Clearly you never driven down Sesame Street." ;Connections *William Shatner played Dr. Edison Milford "Ed" Goodson III *Nicole Sullivan played Bonnie Sister, Sister * In the episode, "Private School," Lisa is on the phone trying to get her money back from her pledge from public television. After much talking, Lisa got offended and said, "I never heard that kind of language on Sesame Street." * In the episode, "Double Dutch," Tamera tells Tia that the sound of her boyfriend's name makes her giggle like Tickle-Me-Elmo. ;Connections * Milton Berle played Edgar in "The Volunteers" * Kobe Bryant appeared in "Kid-Napped" * Sherman Hemsley played Jimmy "Soupy" Campbell * Casey Kasem appeared in "The Audition" * Christopher Reid played a star rapper in "Kid-Napped" and Clark in Season 5 * Fred Willard played Carl Mitushka The Smoking Room A British comedy first aired on BBC Three in 2004, focusing on the conversations of characters while on their smoke breaks, all shot inside their office's smoking room. In episode 3, "Paintball," the manager's assistant Janet is trying to get other employees to sign up for a company paintballing event: :Janet: No, what I was getting at is - I hope sign-up sheet doesn’t end up covered in jokey names. According to the one downstairs, the only people planning to go paintballing are Marge Simpson, Osama Bin Laden, Barbara Windsor and The Bear in the Big Blue House. Spin City In the season 1 episode, "Starting Over," Mike refers to Carter and Stuart as Bert and Ernie. In the Season 5 episode, "Lost and Found," Caitlin tries to describe Charlie to her friend, Sam, as "warm, funny, and kids love him." Sam replies that Caitlin had just described Elmo. ;Connections * James Carville appeared in "Catcher in the Bronx" * Stephen Colbert played Frank in "The Competition" * Mos Def appeared in "Gentleman's Agreement" * Michael J. Fox played Deputy Mayor Mike Flaherty * Kathie Lee Gifford played herself in "Radio Daze" * Jeff Gordon played himself in "The Kidney's All Right" * Richard Kind played Paul Lassiter * Heidi Klum played herself in several episodes in Season 3. * Ed Koch played the city councilman in "The Competition" and himself in "Family Affair" * Queen Latifah played Robin in "Yeah Baby!" and "Sleeping with the Enemy" * Christopher Lloyd played Mike Flaherty's political mentor in "Back to the Future IV: Judgment Day" * Heather Locklear played Caitlin in Season 4-6 * Paula Marshall played Laurie Parres * Marlee Matlin played a leading advocate for deaf rights in "Deaf Becomes Her" * Rosie O'Donnell played herself in "The Image Maker" * Conan O'Brien played himself in "Dead Dog Talking" * Regis Philbin played himself in "Radio Daze" and "How to Bury a Millionaire" * Lou Diamond Phillips played Mike's childhood friend in "An Officer and a Gentleman" * Denise Richards played Jennifer in several episodes in Season 6 * Martin Sheen played Charlie's father in "Rags to Riches" * Jon Stewart appeared in "Wall Street" * Meredith Vieira played herself on The View in "The Marry Caitlin Moore Show" * Raquel Welch played Paul's Mom Sports Night In the episode "The Apology," Casey asks Dan if the Muppets are cool. Dan replies that they are. ;Connections *Josh Charles played Dan Rydell *William H. Macy played Sam Donovan *Yeardley Smith played Malory Moss *Meredith Vieira played herself State of Georgia In the episode "Know When to Fold 'Em", Georgia Chamberlin (Raven-Symoné) and Jo are wearing chicken mascot-style costumes; Georgia quips "We look like Big Bird's illegitimate kids." Another first season episode was titled "It's Not Easy Being Green". Step by Step In the episode "2 B or Not to Be" Frank and JT are performing a scene from "Hamlet" in the kitchen. After the performance, Dana remarks "Yeah, I didn't know Bert and Ernie did Shakespeare". Cody answers "I'm not surprised, Bert's a very versatile actor". Mark says "Cody, Bert is a sock!" Still Standing Judy Miller, one of the show's lead characters, is sometimes seen wearing Sesame Street T-shirts. ;Connections *Mark Addy played Bill Miller *Justine Bateman played Terry *Tim Doyle was a writer and executive producer of the show. *Richard Kind played Dr. Nathan Gerber *Tom Martin was a writer and supervising producer of the show. *Sally Struthers played Louise Miller Stranger Things One of the boys has a Dark Crystal poster in his room. ;Connections * Matthew Modine played Dr. Martin Brenner Supernanny In the sixth episode of the first season, entitled "The Bailey Family" (originally aired on February 28, 2005), a 38-year-old father named Bill Bailey and his 2-year-old son Billy Bailey are reading a Elmo's World book about food during bedtime at 8:00pm. Supernatural * A fourth season episode of the CW series was titled "The Monster at the End of This Book." * In the fifth season episode "Free to Be You and Me" Dean Winchester tells Castiel, "there are two things I know for certain. 1) Bert and Ernie are gay. 2) You are not gonna die a virgin." SuperNews! *In the second season episode, "Twilight of the Vampires", the Count is shown to be the head vampire in the vampire takeover of Hollywood. *In the second season episode, "Soggy Doobies and Strippers", Barack Obama hosts a Job Fair. He shows one possible job in the bad economy is become the President of Afghanistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzi claims he's like a puppet in the system and firing him would be like "firing Kermit the Frog." Joe Biden then complains that Obama has now canceled The Muppet Show. ;Connections *"Weird Al" Yankovic appears as himself in the episode, "Weird Al Colabo Jam", and teamed up with the show's creators to create his "Ringtone" music video. Talk Soup Entertainment show on the E! Network that features clips of other talk shows. During the John Henson era (mid to late 90's; no relation) a recurring character called McDermott the Frog was used, which was simply a commercially available Kermit puppet. Taxi A sitcom about New York City cab drivers, which ran on ABC from 1978 to 1982, and on NBC from 1982 to 1983. In the episode "The Great Race," Alex picks up two nuns who are fighting over what movie to see. One of them wants to see The Muppet Movie, and the other one wants to see The Sound of Music. One of the nuns says, "I can't stand that little frog!" After Alex tells them to pick one, they finally decide to see The Muppet Movie. ;Connections *Ted Danson played Vincenzo Senaca in "The Unkindest Cut" (1982) *Tony Danza played Tony Banta *Danny DeVito played Louie DePalma *Tom Hanks played Gordon in "The Road Not Taken, Part 1" (1982) *Judd Hirsch played Alex Rieger *William Hootkins played a liquor authority agent in "Jim's Mario's" (1983) *Carol Kane played Simka Gravas *Andy Kaufman played Latka Gravas *Julie Kavner played Monica Banta Douglas in "Tony's Sister and Jim" (1980) *Lassie played "herself" in "Fantasy Borough, Part 2" (1980) *Christopher Lloyd played "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski *Penny Marshall played herself in "Louie Moves Uptown" (1983) *Mandy Patinkin played the new father in "Memories of Cab 804, Part 2" (1978) *Julie Payne played one of the nuns in "The Great Race" (1979) *Rhea Perlman played Zena Sherman *Tom Selleck played Mike Beldon in "Memories of Cab 804, Part 2" (1978) *Martin Short played Mitch Harris in "Jim Joins the Network" (1981) *Jeffrey Tambor played Congressman Walter Griswald in "Elaine and the Lame Duck" (1979) *Hervé Villechaize played himself in "Fantasy Borough, Part 1" (1980) *George Wendt played the exterminator in "Latka the Playboy" (1981) Teen Titans *In the season three episode, "Bunny Raven... or... How to Make A Titananimal Disappear," this animated DC Comics spin-off series features two elderly characters who sit in a theatre box and make wisecracks about the mock variety show being performed on stage. The manner in which they laugh at their particular flavor of jokes is reminiscent of, and likely a direct reference to, Statler and Waldorf. Most of the episode's third act is a homage to The Muppet Show, complete with a spoof of the theme music and a parody of Scooter. *In a "New Teen Titans" short, the Titans appear in a kids program, "Kidz Korner 4 Kidz," which contains references to Sesame Street (including a "One of These Things"-style segment and a Two-Headed Monster-inspired scene). ;Connections *Dave Coulier voiced Tramm *Kevin Michael Richardson voiced Trigon, Mammoth, and See-More *Tara Strong voiced Raven, Kole, Kitten, Jinx ("Titans Together"), and Gizmo ("Revved Up," "Titans Together") *Russi Taylor voiced Melvin and Timmy Tantrum *Wil Wheaton voiced Aqualad Teen Titans Go! *In the episode "Hot Garbage", Beast Boy reveals that he watches a TV show with a green, garbage-loving character that resembles Oscar the Grouch. *In the episode "Beast Boy's St. Patrick's Day Luck and it's Bad", the front door and steps that Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Raven sit at while playing their instruments during the "Bad Luck" song resemble those of 123 Sesame Street. Nearby is a trash can with a skeletal arm that has green skin on it sticking out, alluding to Oscar the Grouch. ;Connections *Kevin Michael Richardson voices Trigon, Mammoth and See-More *Tara Strong voices Raven *Wil Wheaton voices Aqualad Terrifying Times The Daily Show correspondent John Oliver's television special of his stand-up comedy act premiered on Comedy Central on April 21, 2008. He opens the show citing a disclaimer about his nationality; "Primarily, I've gathered you here this evening to tell you this: that, it's not easy being British... as Kermit so nearly sang." This Hour has 22 Minutes On the October 23rd, 2013 episode, Nancy Kent interviews 2 men dressed in green leotards who boo opposing players penalty box at the Rogers Centre in Vancouver, BC. Before the interview, Kent says "Let's take a look and see if it's not really easy being green" In a Raj binder segment he talks about the Oscar nods, and an image of Oscar the Grouch is shown behind him. The Thundermans After Max is turned blue in the episode "Blue Detective", he blames his family. Phoebe asks, "Do you have to be so dramatic?" Max answers, "I'm the one who looks like a teenage Cookie Monster, so yeah!" He then eats a waffle similarly to Cookie. Tiny Toon Adventures An animated variety series produced by Steven Spielberg, starring a group of young cartoon characters who attend Acme Looniversity to study under the original Looney Tunes stars. * In the season 2 episode "Toon Physics", in the "Once Upon a Star" segment, Elmyra's Barbette doll (parodying Barbie) demands fashions from Paris, not Sesame Street. ;Connections * Dan Castellaneta voiced Jeffries and Harvey * Tim Curry voiced Princes Charles and Reginald * Carol Kane voiced Ollie in "A Quack in the Quarks" * Edie McClurg voiced Hampton's mom, Winnie * Brian Stokes Mitchell voiced Vinnie the Deer in 'Mr Popular's Rules of Life' * Rob Paulsen voiced Fowlmouth, Arnold, Concord Condor, and others * Cree Summer voiced Elmyra Duff * Frank Welker voiced Gogo Dodo, Furrball, and others. * Jonathan Winters voiced Hampton's dad, Wade Toonsylvania An animated variety series similar to Animaniacs and produced by Steven Spielberg featuring Dr. Vic Frankenstein with his assistant Igor and their dim-witted Frankenstein monster known as Phil. The show featured rotating segments with other characters like a family of zombies called the Deadman and a bratty girl named Melissa Screetch. In the Night of the Living Fred episode, "Bang," the family zombies were about to have dinner when the house started to shake and Fred shouted, "Snuffleupagus is that?" ;Connections * Nancy Cartwright voiced Melissa Screetch * Sandy Fox voiced Darla Doily * Matt Frewer voiced Deadgar Deadman (first season) * Brad Garrett voiced Phil * David Warner voiced Dr. Vic Trophy Wife In season one's "The Wedding - Part One," Kate (Malin Åkerman) shows Pete (Bradley Whitford) the wedding scene from The Muppets Take Manhattan as an example of what she'd like their wedding to be like. ;Connections * Florence Henderson plays Pete's mom * Megan Mullally plays Kate's mom TV's Most Censored Moments The program, an original presentation of the now-defunct Trio Channel, briefly touches on Sesame Street's state-wide banning from broadcast in the state of Mississippi for one month during 1970, due to its integrated neighborhood. Two and a Half Men *In the episode, "The Spit-Covered Cobbler," Alan tells Charlie that Kandi may not be sophisticated, but she's street-smart to which Charlie replied, "Sesame Street-smart." *In the episode, "And the Plot Moistens," Alan talks to Charlie that he has trouble communicating to Kandi after lovemaking and Charlie replies that he should have thought of that before he started boinkin' a girl with the IQ of Tickle Me Elmo! *In the episode, "The Two Finger Rule," when Charlie, Alan, Gordon, Herb, and Jerome were talking about their first date, Herb told them he didn't start dating till he was in college at freshman year. Herb says he was a geek in high school and how everyone called him "Big Bird" that when he went to college, he stopped wearing yellow shirts and lowered his standards. *In the episode, "818-jklpuzo," Alan and Melissa had just finish skinny dipping and then they started talking to each other. :Melissa: Alan, what do you say we take a hot shower and unshrink the Snuffleupagus? :Alan: He'll be fine, it's Bert and Ernie I'm worried about. I think Bert has ascended to my rib cage. :Later Alan talks to Charlie after Melissa leaves to take a hot shower. :Alan: Now that we're seeing each other again the fact that she lives with her mom presents a problem. :Charlie: Why, because you tickled Mom's Elmo? :Alan: It was just light necking. I never touched her Elmo. *In the episode, "Bite Me, Supreme Court," Marty's friend says that he once did a show with Miss Piggy and says, "You know there's a guy under her?" ;Connections *Jason Alexander played Dr. Goodman in "The Straw In My Donut Hole" *Eugene Byrd played Lenny in "Pilot." *Lynda Carter played herself in "Justice in Star-Spangled Hot Pants" *Tim Conway played Marty Pepper's friend in "Bite Me, Supreme Court" *Miley Cyrus played Missi in "You Do Know What The Lollipop Is For" and "Avoid the Chinese Mustard" *Conchata Ferrell plays Berta *Gary Halvorson directed episodes. *Teri Hatcher played Judith's sister Liz in "I Remember the Coatroom, I Just Don't Remember You." *Allison Janney played Alan's on-line dating partner in "My Damn Stalker." *James Earl Jones appeared himself in "The Devil's Lube." *Carol Kane played Melissa's mother. *Richard Kind played Artie Pliskin in "Is There a Mrs. Waffles?" *Cloris Leachman played Norma in "Madame and Her Special Friend." *Heather Locklear played Alan's divorce attorney Laura Lang in "No Sniffing, No Wowing." *Jane Lynch plays Dr. Linda Freeman *Jon Lovitz played Charlie's arch nemesis in "The Unfortunate Little Schnauser." *Jenny McCarthy played Teddy's "daughter", Courtney *Brad Paisley played Derek in "Oh WALD-E, Good Times Ahead" *Kimberly Williams Paisley played Gretchen *Jon Polito appeared as himself in "He Smelled the Ham, He Got Excited." *Denise Richards played Lisa in "Merry Thanksgiving" *Martin Sheen played Rose's father in "Sleep Tight, Puddin' Pop." *Brooke Shields played Danielle in "That's Summer Sausage, Not Salami." *Kevin Sorbo played Andy in "Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Burro" (2006) *Harry Dean Stanton appeared as himself in "Back Off Mary Poppins." *Steven Tyler appeared as himself in "Who's Vod Kanockers?" Ugly Betty In the first season episode "Fey's Sleigh Ride", Marc says of Betty, "The poor cow has no idea we only invited her so people could see she really exists. She's like a real-life Snuffleupagus, only hairier." ;Connections *Kristin Chenoweth appeared as Diane in "East Side Story" (2007) *Jesse Tyler Ferguson played Dr. Gabe Farkus in two episodes (2010) *Lisa Howard appeared as a Dominatrix in "Plus None" (2009) *Lindsay Lohan played Kimmie Keegan in four episodes (2010) *Debi Mazar appeared as Leah Feldman in two episodes (2006) *Bernadette Peters appeared as Jodie Papadakis in five episodes (2009) *John Tartaglia played Paolo in "Smokin' Hot" (2010) *Vanessa Williams played Wilhelmina Slater Undateable *In the episode, "Let There Be Light," Justin and Danny's neighbor, Kevin, asked if the two are married couples. When Justin and Danny denied it, Kevin says he knows the Bert and Ernie situation. *In the episode, "Candace's Boyfriend walks into a Bar," Shelly tries to help Brett be a better kisser. Burski says Shelly is good at kissing because Shelly's old girlfriend was a Miss Piggy Doll. Shelly replied, "I made that piggy squealed. And I made the frog watched." *In the episode, "A Stray Dog Walks Into a Bar," Danny tells Justin to stop being nice and says "You'll get your ass kicked on Sesame Street." *In the episode, "A Will They Walks Into a Bar," Danny tells Justin that his favorite TV shows are Empire and Sesame Street because both main characters are name Cookie. ;Connections * Backstreet Boys were the musical guests in "The Backstreet Boys Walk Into a Bar" * Zach Braff played Shelly's co-worker in "A Live Show Walks Into a Bar" * Sarah Chalke appeared in "A Rock and a Hard Place Walk Into a Bar" * Donald Faison played Shelly's co-worker in "A Live Show Walks Into a Bar" * Neil Flynn played a customer in "A Live Show Walks Into a Bar" * Bill Lawrence is executive producer of the show * Phill Lewis directed episodes and played Lauren's father in "An Angry Judge Walks Into a Bar" * Bridgit Mendler plays Candace * Ed Sheeran appeared in "A Live Show Walks Into a Bar" * Weezer were the musical guests in "Danny's Boyz Walk Into a Bar" Undergrads In the episode "Drunks" Gimpy tells Mum to set up a discussion as to "whether Yoda sounds like Grover or Miss Piggy." Unfabulous A 2004 Nickelodeon sitcom, following the lives of young guitarist Addie Singer (Emma Roberts) and her friends, Geena Fabianno (Malese Jow) and Zack Carter-Schwartz (Jordan Calloway). Thoughout every episode, Addie would sing and play her guitar to help her cope with whatever issue she's currently dealing with. *In the season two finale "The Perfect Moment" Addie's older brother, Ben Singer gets arrested in Chinatown after attempting to get a tattoo while being underage. When his parents call him in the back of the car, he pretends he is still with his sister at home (who is also currently in Chinatown), by pretending he's watching the movie Back to the Future Part II, however he conflates it with Back to the Future Part III. The officer corrects him once he's off the phone, then at the station, a confused Ben asks "Then when did Doc and Marty take Manhattan?" To which the officer replies "That was The Muppets." Later back at the house, he tells Addie and her friends the cover story that they were watching BttFII, and that it doesn't have Muppets in it. ;Connections *Robert Townsend directed the episode "The Quest". Unhappily Ever After A sitcom created by Ron Leavitt, who also created Married with Children, which aired on the WB from 1995 to 1999 which centered on Jack Malloy, the father of a dysfunctional family, and his best friend, a stuffed animal rabbit named Mr. Floppy voiced by Bob Goldthwait. *In the episode, "High and Dry," Jack Malloy and his wife, Jennifer Malloy, suspect that their son, Ryan, is doing drugs, when they find some white powder in his car and on the towel of his bed. Since they really don't know how to be effective parents to their kids, Jenny said they have to go to the video store and also said, "Sesame Street taught them to read, Barney taught them to hug. Surely there's got to be some hip happening puppet out there with more parenting skills than we have." *In the episode, "Exorcising Jennie," Mr. Floppy talks about if he was a ghost, he would be in Elmo's dressing room with a knife. Then he looks to the viewer and says "Hey Elmo, this murder is brought to you by the letter K...as in Kermit, my next victim. That skinny little tap-dancing toad." ;Connections *Erik Estrada appeared in "Eating Hollywood." *Kristanna Loken played Sable O'Brien *Hayden Panettiere played as little girl in "Little Ice Cream Shop of Horrors." *Allan Trautman puppeteered Mr. Floppy and also played Mr. Dunn (four episodes) and other teachers. Veep In the episode, "Helsinki", Dan asks Mike, "How do you do that Fozzie Bear happy guy 'Wocka Wocka' bullshit to get the press to like you?" ;Connections *Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer The Vicar of Dibley In the 1996 Easter special (sometimes entitled "Easter Bunny"), Geraldine is explaining the truth behind the Easter Bunny to Alice. The vicar (while trying to break it gently to her) says: "Now at 10 your mother sat you down, and she told you that Kermit was really just an old windsock..." In a sketch entitled "Celebrity Party", aired as part of a Comic Relief (UK) special in 1999, Geraldine and Alice prepare for their party with Johnny Depp. :Geraldine: Johnny's spent his whole life being surrounded by exotic birds. :Alice: Yeah, like Paris and Britney and Big Bird from Sesame Street. ;Connections *John Bluthal played Frank Pickle *Dawn French played the Rev. Geraldine "Gerry" Granger Kennedy Victorious In the episode "Terror on Cupcake Street", Beck (Avan Jogia) comments that "we're not on Sesame Street." Cat (Ariana Grande) claims that she loves Sesame Street and begins to sing the theme, but is immediately shut up by Jade (Elizabeth Gillies). ;Connections *Perez Hilton guest starred as himself in "Wi-Fi in the Sky." Video On Trial A Canadian show where 5 people pick music videos and make harsh (yet funny) comments on them and at the end they make verdicts of whether the singer(s) is guilty or not. *In "Video On Trial: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Hump de Bump," Boomer Phillips said he was waiting for Oscar the Grouch to pop out of a garbage can. *In "Video On Trial: The Killers - Read My Mind," Fraser Young's verdict was for having sex with a "Muppet" and sentenced them to maintain a distance not less then 100 feet from Miss Piggy. The Venture Bros. In the season four episode "Perchance to Dean" of the Adult Swim animated series, Dermott Fictel noted that he saw Fight Club in 1999 instead of The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, the age-appropriate fare his mother had intended him to see. ;Connections *Patrick Warburton voices Brock Samson *Stephen Colbert voiced Prof. Richard Impossible The Wayans Bros. In episode 17 of Season 3, "Pop's Secret" Shawn and Marlon accuse their father (Pops) of cheating on their mother, when they confront him Shawn says "Alright Kermit, we know what you've been hopping around town to do." In episode 17 of season 5, "Crazy 4 You," Shawn and Marlon both fall in love with the same girl. Shawn tells Marlon that he doesn't stand a chance to date her since she is a psychiatrist. Marlon thought Shawn said ventriloquist, but when he heard the word again, it reminded Marlon of a psychiatrist name Sigmund Freud. Shawn is impressed and said to Marlon that eight years of Sesame Street paid off. ;Connections * Paula Abdul played Sasha in "Dream Girl" * Bill Cobbs played Fred in "The Black Widower" * En Vogue appeared in "I was En Vogue's Love Slave" * Sherman Hemsley played Mr. Stone in "It's Shawn! It's Marlon! It's Superboys." * Gary Halvorson directed episodes * Phill Lewis played T.C. in Season 2-5 * Jerry Springer appeared in "Talk is Cheap" * Fred Willard played Dick Ferndale in "All in the Family Feud" Weeds *In episode 8 of season 4, Celia Hodes, manning the register at Maternity World while manic on uppers, entreats a customer to settle for a green shirt rather than the blue she wants. "Green is the color of spring," effuses Celia in a suspiciously Kermit-y voice. *In episode 10 of season 5, Andy invites Dr. Audra on a date to a jazz concert. Doubting he knows anything about jazz, she dares him to name one jazz musician, and he can only think of Dr. Teeth. :Audra: He's a Muppet. :Andy: He's a jazz Muppet! ;Connections * Guillermo Diaz played Guillermo Garcia-Gomez Welcome to Sweden *In episode 5 of season 1 ("Fitting In"), Bruce (Greg Poehler) overhears his Swedish girlfriend Emma (Josephine Bornebusch) talking with a friend about their mutual, terminally ill friend. Not understanding a word, he joins the conversation in mock-Swedish: :Greg: Ooo-dee-boo-dee-boo-dee! (laughs) That's like... that's all I hear when you guys are talking back and forth... it's just like... remember the, uh, Swedish Chef from The Muppet Show? It's like I can't understand a word when you guys are... talking... what um... were you guys... talking about? :Emma: A dying friend. :Greg: (chuckles) :Emma: (silence) :Greg: Seriously? :Emma: Yeah. ;Connections * Amy Poehler plays herself in several episodes, executive produces the show * Björn Ulvaeus plays himself in "Homesick" The Wild and the Free A 1980 television movie about a professor and an adventurer who rescue chimpanzees from being used as science experiments. At one point, the chimpanzees are seen watching a clip of Kermit and Miss Piggy in The Muppets Go Hollywood on television. Will & Grace * The fifth season episode, "All About Christmas Eve," features the following exchange: :Jack: In order for us to forgive you, you'll perform the following task. You must sing "The Twelve Days of Christmas." :Will: I can do that. :Jack: As the Count, from Sesame Street. :Will: [Romanian accent, imitating the Count] On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... That's one, one day! Ah ha ha! :Jack and Karen laugh and clap * In the sixth season episode "I Do. Oh, No, You Di-in't" Beverly is sorry she missed a wedding ceremony. Karen says, "Probably just as well. There were some children there, and they get frightened when something your size isn't covered in Muppet fur." ;Connections * Alan Arkin played Martin Adler * Alec Baldwin played Malcolm Widmark * John Cleese played Lyle Finster * Harry Connick, Jr. played Dr. Marvin "Leo" Markus * Taye Diggs played James Hanson * Seth Green played Randall Finn in "Friends With Benefits" * Neil Patrick Harris played Bill in "Girls, Interrupted" * Gregory Hines played Ben Doucette * Debra Messing played Grace Adler * Megan Mullally played Karen Walker * Rosie O'Donnell played Elliott's mother, Bonnie * Bernadette Peters played Karen's sister, Virginia "Ginny" Delaney. * Lily Tomlin played Margot Wipeout *In the first episode of the fifth season, "Deck The Balls" (a Christmas-themed episode, aired December 8, 2011), one of the contestants imitated Elmo throughout her runs, earning her the nickname "Tickle Me". Earlier, new co-host Vanessa Lachey indicated that she thought host John Henson's father "invented the Muppets, right?" (Henson, unrelated to Jim Henson and not to be confused with his actual son John Henson, replied "Uh, no.") Wizards of Waverly Place *In the episode, "Justin's New Girlfriend," Alex complains to her brother, Justin, and best friend, Harper, about how much she hates silent movies. She remarks that it is not hard to go back and invent some voices in the movie, and that people on the internet do it all the time. She gives an example of a video she saw of Big Bird doing a Kanye West song. ;Connections *Moises Arias as Max's Conscience in "Monster Hunter," "Three Monsters," and "A Night at the Lazerama." *Bridgit Mendler plays Juliet van Heusen *Jake T. Austin plays Max *Cindy Crawford played Bibi Rockford in "Fashion Week." *Selena Gomez plays Alex *David Henrie plays Justin *Gary Owens voiced Corporate Ad/Ominous in "Saving WizTech." *Tiffany Thornton played Susan in "Movies" *Fred Willard played Mr. Stuffleby in "Make It Happen" and "Monster Hunter." WKRP in Cincinnati Sitcom centered around a rock-and-roll radio station, which ran from 1978 until 1982. In the first season episode "A Commercial Break," from 1979, Venus Flytrap and Herb Tarlek are auditioning jingle singers for an in-house commercial, and trying to coax shy Bailey Quarters into singing. :Venus: Come on, sing. Sing a song! :Herb: Sing out loud! Sing out strong! Sing of good things... ;Connections *Loni Anderson played Jennifer Marlowe *George Gaynes played Henri in the episode "Jennifer's Home for Christmas." *Edie McClurg played Lucille Tarlek in three episodes. *Julie Payne played Buffy Denver in the two-part episode "For Love or Money." Working Class Sitcom centered around Carli Mitchell (Melissa Peterman), a single mom from a rough and tumble background, trying to give her three kids a better life by moving them to an upscale suburb. In the episode "Short, Then Sweet," Carli tries to find a date on the internet to go to her boss' house warming party. When she finds out her date, Derek, is shorter than her, she feels a bit funny about going out with him. They soon open up at the party and made a few funny jokes about each other's height. In one of the jokes, Derek calls Carli, "Big Bird." ;Connections *Ed Asner played Carli's neighbor, Hank Greziak. Work It Sitcom centered around two unemployed men, Lee and Angel, who have to pose as women in order to secure a job at a pharmaceutical company. In the episode "Masquerade Balls," Lee wants to figure out which famous woman he looks like. Angel asks, "Is Big Bird a woman?" Wonderfalls In the episode "Muffin Buffalo," lead character Jaye is playing Pictionary with her family and her friend Pat. While Jaye's sister draws frantically, Pat shouts out guesses as to what she's drawing: "It's a frog! He's singing! 'Rainbow Connection!' " Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous In the episode "Zach Stone is Gonna Be a Famous Chef," Zach mentions that all great celebrity chefs are famous only because of their personalities, not their cooking skill. His list includes "the Swedish one from The Muppets." Zoey 101 In the episode "Quinn Misses the Mark", Michael Barrett claims that a horse ate the cookies meant for Logan and James. James, annoyed, calls Michael "Cookie Monster". __NOWYSIWYG__ Category:TV Mentions